Through this campaign, Canon combines its imaging innovation with the medium of touch, allowing people not only to see coral reefs but to feel them. By creating tactile reproductions of coral textures captured through Canon’s imaging technology, the brand invites audiences to experience the fragility and wonder of underwater life in an entirely new way. The campaign emphasises Canon’s broader commitment to using its technology to preserve natural ecosystems and demonstrates how purposeful innovation can encourage meaningful environmental impact.
This initiative is further strengthened through Canon’s partnerships with Coral Spawning Lab (CSL) and Nature Seychelles (NS) , whose shared commitment to environmental stewardship and community engagement supports the mission of deepening public understanding of marine conservation. Their collaboration ensures that the campaign reaches broader audiences and drives meaningful, collective action toward protecting South Africa’s natural heritage.
Feeling the reef
Building on Canon’s global sustainability vision, the Coral Restoration Campaign forms part of a series of initiatives designed to highlight the hidden beauty and ecological importance of coral reefs. More than raising awareness, it seeks to transform concern into deep, emotional understanding, showing that the health of our oceans is a responsibility that touches us all. Canon believes that when people connect with the natural world not just intellectually, but through their senses and their hearts, they are far more likely to act to protect it.
Partnerships with organisations such as CSL and NS also allow the campaign to tap into specialised expertise and expanded outreach platforms. These collaborations help amplify the message that ocean conservation is not the responsibility of a single entity, but the result of unified, purpose-led action.
The campaign also looks at Canon’s long-standing mission of imaging with purpose, which focuses on going beyond photography to use visual storytelling as a means for change. It demonstrates how technology, art and science can intersect to tell powerful stories of resilience and renewal, turning every image, every interaction and every tactile encounter into a call to preserve the beauty of our planet.
Canon on purpose-driven imaging
“At Canon, we believe imaging isn’t just about what you see, but also about what you feel,” says Leander Kettledas, Corporate Communications and Sustainability Manager at Canon South Africa. “Through the Coral Restoration Campaign, we’ve expanded the language of visual storytelling to include touch, allowing people to experience the ocean’s textures, its fragility and its beauty in ways that move them to act. This initiative reflects our belief that innovation must serve a greater purpose: to connect us more deeply with the world we share.”
As coral reefs continue to face unprecedented threats, Canon’s campaign — supported by partners CSL and NS — acts as both a reminder and a call to action. Sustainability isn’t a distant ideal, but a shared responsibility that begins with awareness, empathy and deliberate action.
Canon invites everyone to see, feel and protect the beauty that inspires us. To find out more about the Coral Restoration Campaign, visit The View. DM