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In parks, gardens, and urban areas scattered throughout Manchester, England, Disney and National Geographic are promoting a new show titled Secrets of Bees. The two are doing so in an unconventional way, however, foregoing typical billboards and instead installing a series of permanent installations specially made for the pollinators.
The new show, part of the Emmy-winning “Secrets of” franchise, was released on March 31, 2026. For the occasion, Disney hired the creative agency Meanwhile to bring light to the show that took years of study, research, and specialized equipment to film bees in a way never before seen.
The show focuses on the social structures, diversity, and survival of various bee species. Meanwhile created advertisements that aid in this mission, promoting the show and its message simultaneously, doing so with subtlety and creativity. The ads are designed as mini bee hotels, a resting point for solitary bees taking a break from pollination. And since these installations are meant to be permanent, they must be sustainable. The cedar used for these installations comes from sustainably sourced, already felled trees, which is a detail unnoticeable at first glance, but which really represents the level of thought, detail, and meaning in these boxes.
Meanwhile and Build Hollywood, aided by Manchester & District Beekeepers’ Association, also put up a permanent blooming billboard, coined “bloomboard,” in Heaton Park, that was made from the same felled cedar and surrounded by over 500 plants to assist the bees’ pollination.
The bloomboard and bee hotels encapsulate what National Geographic is trying to accomplish with this show— creating positive change for bees. Hopefully, ventures like this will encourage others to take similar small, manageable, but impactful actions that make a difference for at least one population.
To promote its new show titled Secrets of the Bees, National Geographic hired creative agency Meanwhile to create clever, sustainable advertisements.
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Meanwhile used the show's message to build mini bee hotels, which give solitary bees a resting spot or nesting spot, aiding their pollinator plight.
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The bee hotels, along with a “bloomboard” (a blooming billboard) featuring a pollination garden, are intended as permanent installations and are made from sustainable materials.
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Meanwhile: Website | Instagram | LinkedIn
Sources: Disney and NatGeo Built Billboards That Bees Can Actually Live In
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