Research - Blue Planet effect

After Blue Planet 2, levels of distrust in the media and with brands fell, with people not realising how much plastic was polluting the oceans. More pressure was put on brands to reduce the amount of plastic in their products - Coca-Cola pledged to increase the amount of recycled plastic in its bottles to 50%, amid pressure from environmentalists. ASOS has also committed to increasing the amount of post-consumer recycled materials used to make its clothes.

People were shocked at the amount of plastic pollution in the ocean. When the series started filming there was no plan to include plastic in the series. However, once the crew started filming they realised they had to make it a central theme. They had to intervene at times to rescue animals such as a whale who was caught in fishing rope and was struggling to swim, as well as a whale who had a bucket stuck in its mouth and they had to pull it out at the risk of their own lives. They also picked up every bit of plastic they saw and recycled it. At the NTA's the program won the Impact award and David Attenborough said that our oceans should be considered under crisis due to human's actions.

The program set into effect something called 'The Blue Planet Effect' which is plastic recycling and reduction moving up the public agenda. Since the episode aired, the BBC have continued to orchestrate a change in plastic consumption, by banning single-use plastics within the company by 2020. They have also set up plastics watch which is a page on their site where you can get involved with resources and find out more about plastics and how to reduce your use. 

Although plastic pollution has existed since plastic was invented and was commonly known about, the extent of it was never really made public easy to get your hands on knowledge. The inclusion of it within such a popular show that was broadcasted on BBC One made the problem extremely obvious to a lot of viewers. A lot of these were inspired to make a change within their own lives. The reaction from the TV show shows how aiming your message at the right audience through the right medium can really make a difference to peoples behaviour to achieve the intended change.