We have released our new Christmas Advert entitled ‘Conservation Never Stops’ which takes viewers behind-the-scenes of daily life at the Zoo all year round.
The 3-minute advert takes viewers on a journey to see life at the Zoo from January through to December, following the animals, staff and visitors at CZS.
On 1st February 2025, we began our new chapter as a charity known as Colchester Zoological Society. The purpose of changing to Colchester Zoological Society, a charitable trust, was to secure the future of the Zoo as a centre of conservation, helping to protect wildlife and wild places whilst providing a first-class visitor experience for generations to come.
None of this would have been possible without the help of our dedicated team across all departments, from animal care and maintenance to catering, admissions and the unwavering support from the Zoo’s visitors too – this has set the message of this year’s Christmas advert – ‘Conservation Never Stops’, it simply can’t! Therefore, we operate 365 days a year so each and every ticket purchased, every Zoo Pass renewed, and every donation made is vitally important to aid the care provided to endangered species both at the Zoo and across the globe.
Don’t forget to take part in our competition for your chance to WIN a family ticket to CZS this Christmas! You can participate online by clicking the link below.
Where to Watch
Our ‘Conservation Never Stops’ advert is part of an online marketing campaign. The advert can be seen via our social media pages, as well as taking centre stage on our website and on digital screens at the Zoo.
The Team Behind the Magic
Bringing the story of the Zoo to life wouldn’t have been possible without the collaboration of Deadline Communications.
Deadline Communications was formed in 2004 by filmmakers Simon J Frith, Jim Cogan and Peter Curtis. Simon assembled a small team to produce the film including: Chris O’Connor, Audio Production and Rebecca Goodeve, Colourist.
Simon J Frith – ‘Conservation Never Stops’ Director / Cinematographer / Editor
Simon J Frith is an award-winning director and producer with over twenty years’ experience across corporate, documentary, and entertainment filmmaking. His credits include the acclaimed feature documentary Under the Radar: The Mike Edmonds Story (2019), From Thailand to Tenbury: Showing Sheep in the Shires (2024), Eva’s Legacy (2015), Rogue Trader (2019), and the web TV series Not on Your Telly (2021–2022). He also directed the last two Colchester Zoo Christmas campaigns and the Zoo’s 2020 lockdown films Leah’s Leopard and Bringing the Zoo To You. Dedicated to storytelling that connects audiences with real people and real experiences, Simon continues to create original projects that blend authenticity, emotion, and cinematic craft.
Chris O’Connor – Audio Production
With over 20 years’ experience in the audio industry, Chris has worked in many guises: working on everything from radio broadcast, content production and commercials – to foley for film, sound design, and music production. Notable clients over the years include ESPN, The Guardian, The BBC, Channel 4, Nickelodeon, Sky and many more.
Chris said “I’ve worked on many projects over the years with Simon and this was amongst the most fun. It’s a joy to work on a project with such beautiful imagery, featuring such an array of wildlife. I hope we achieved our wish in celebrating these wonderful animals and the hard work of the people looking after them at CZS. Recreating and recording the sounds in some of the scenes was so much fun, and I hope to do more of this kind of foley work in the future. It was a real pleasure.”
Rebecca Goodeve – Colourist
A freelance colourist who has worked on pretty much every genre of moving-image artform. She brings her visual flair to everything from short films and commercials (including those for Carlsberg and Haribo) to music videos, documentaries, and feature films (including Insurgent (2015), Grimsby (2016) and King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017)).
Music
The original music for this year’s advert was written and produced by redstable. Influenced by film composers like Hans Zimmer, John Carpenter, Junkie XL, Lorne Balfe, and Hybrid, redstable crafts immersive tracks that feel like they belong on the big screen. His music is made to move with the image, blending ambient soundscapes, pulsing synths, and storytelling through sound.
Growing Together
Without loyal supporters, we wouldn’t be able to help care for wildlife and wild places so of course the film had to feature families enjoying a day out with us. These visitors included Presley, who previously starred in the Zoo’s 2023 Christmas advert, Tiger Sprit, and Daisy who starred in the Zoo’s 2020 film, Leah’s Leopard, as the Zoo celebrated reopening following the COVID pandemic.
Competition
In celebration of the release of our new Christmas advert, we are offering our supporters the chance to WIN a family ticket (2 adults and 2 children) this festive season by entering a special competition.
Taking part couldn’t be easier! All you need to do is watch the new advert and submit an answer to the following question:
*T&Cs apply. Competition closes Friday 21st November 2025.
