While most advertisers seek out billboards with unobstructed sightlines, India-based food products company Britannia recently did the opposite, installing units that had to adapt to the shape of surrounding trees — like puzzle pieces instead of standard rectangles. Launched in January 2025 across four Indian cities, the Nature Shapes Britannia campaign aims to convey that the company is adapting to nature’s needs. Each biodegradable billboard highlights key sustainability efforts, including ‘plastic neutrality’ and water stewardship, with typography and layouts bending to the natural contours of adjacent greenery.
The creative and media agencies behind the initiative specifically identified billboards obstructed by trees and designed creative assets based on each site’s tree growth patterns. The unexpected shapes and designs of the displays elicited initial confusion among consumers (and often humorous social media responses), which gave way to positive commentary about adapting corporate practices to the environment. Of course, sustainability advertising often risks veering into greenwashing territory. Creative billboards, however green their message, don’t guarantee a brand is living up to its sustainability claims. Britannia acknowledges, “We’ve made strides, but the journey isn’t over.”
Besides broadcasting its own efforts, the company’s campaign serves to spark a shift in consumer perspective about the natural world’s status and significance. It builds on a growing theme of personifying nature, highlighting that the planet’s needs are as important as those of humans. Last September, three Pacific island nations submitted a proposal to recognize ecocide as a crime alongside genocide, while New Zealand just granted personhood to Mount Tanaraki. Which poses a bigger question for everyone — instead of forcing nature to give way to human progress, what if built environments and human activities were designed to conform to nature?