Frog Prince finally makes good. A well thought through campaign from an ad agency - finally!

Every once in a while someone will do an ad campaign that's a bit more than one.

The Prince of Wales is the latest culprit. Recently he launched the Prince of Wales Rainforest project with a 60 second TV commercial that featured - in addition to himself - a raft of stars (list by no means exhaustive) who included Daniel Craig, the Dalai Lama, Harrison Ford, the two princes William and Harry and Pele.

The ad is well done - click "Video" on the side bar widget to take a look. It uses celebrities to draw attention to the issue but not in a way that takes away from it. The frog is an icon of the rainforest and the campaign uses it to create a visual burr - a property that lends itself to endless possibilities to engage.

Already the possibilities have started pouring in. What shall we name the frog is the first question? Richard Branson thinks Prince Charming, some one else is convinced he should be called Clarence. There's already an assumption the frog is male - but no-one's confirmed that yet. The endless debate and fun - despite this being a serious topic - that one can have with this campaign lends itself very nicely to social media - so key to achieving publicity for any brand these days.

Fun apart - what makes this campaign special?
In my view, it's the thinking that's gone into it.

Driving awareness alone of an issue is rarely enough to solve it. Too many ad campaigns do just that. You see it all the time - at Cannes and the other creative award shows. No to be effective, ad campaigns and the people who create them have to think through the entire solution. One that drives the ultimate end objective. Which in this case is a stop to deforestation of the rainforests.

The Prince of Wales campaign is trying to do just this. The ads are only one part of the campaign and set the scene for debate inviting public participation. What the campaign also does though is present the public with a very real and tangible suite of solutions that can solve the problem of deforestation. These solutions are creative but have little to do with advertising.

Let me explain. One of the key problems with deforestation is the fact that it's carried out in the name of cattle ranching and agriculture by the locals of countries like Brazil in whose hands the destiny of the rainforests are.

Try telling a landless farmer who has to feed his family that he should do his bit for the planet. He's just trying to do his bit to stay alive.

It's not just the farmers. Most of the countries who hold rainforest assets also have very high foreign debt levels. This leads them to look for economic growth at any cost - even if environmentally unsustainable in the long term.

The poverty of their people (31% of Brazil's population live under the poverty line) make it difficult for them to empathise with global sentiment and hence pressure their Governments to make change of any sort. And the steady demand for beef at lower prices ensures cattle ranchers have plenty of reason to keep expanding their herds at the cost of the forests.

What the Prince's Trust has done is not only understood the real issues facing the rainforests, it has developed a suite of very real and practical solutions that it presents to the public.

These include Western countries PAYING poorer countries for every acre of forest they keep virgin, educating farmers on more efficient farming techniques so less land needs to be cleared for agriculture, working with Governments to develop solutions to landless labour - another key reason individuals in these countries take to the forest to try and eke out a livelihood - and also raising the issue of third world debt and its cancellation - a move that could give these struggling countries - and the world - the reprieves they both need.

None of these initiatives can come to fruition unless supported by citizens of the developed world - they are the ones who hold the real answer to the problem. By showing the public the path that can exist, and gaining their active support for the initiatives proposed - they give Government an impetus - a reason to be brave and support solutions free of political considerations.

And that is key to creating a real, effective an lasting response to the problem.

A campaign like this - we need more off
Our industry has in recent times enslaved itself to awards and quarterly results rather than the way we are able to contribute in a more meaningful way to the world and society.

This has made the public question the role of advertising and become increasingly cynical towards it. It's a trend we need to reverse - and it's campaigns like the Prince of Wales Rainforest initiative that can help us do that.