Of all the emergency PSAs, this must be one of the most powerful. It has no visuals. It is three minutes long. You hear two things in those three minutes, the voices of family members caught in a house fire and a very calm narration. Your mind adds the pictures as the narrator describes the danger and its consequences.

It’s a standout idea by FCB NZ for Fire & Emergency NZ that is also running in radio. In addition, a 3-minute TVC was booked as ad break takeovers, through a partnership with TVNZ. Smoke and flames fill what looks like a normal break of 30-second spots from TVNZ and other FCB clients until smoke totally eclipses the screen – demonstrating the speed of fire and the importance of an escape plan.

The campaign comes off the back of communications highlighting the fact that a house fire becomes un-survivable in less than three minutes. The campaign’s aim is to get people to make a fire plan for every member of the household to escape safely.

“Using our Escape My House tool will make you think about important things that you may not have considered,” stated national advisor, fire risk management, Peter Gallagher. “Things like a second exit in case your normal exit is blocked, making sure you know where your keys are if doors are deadlocked and having a safe meeting place for everyone in your household.”

The films drive people to Fire & Emergency’s Escape Planning Tool, whose step-by-step process points out potential blind spots in helping people to prepare their own life-saving escape plan.

In addition to the three-minute ad takeovers, the promotion of Escape Week includes:

• A partnership with NZME, sharing the story of a real family losing a loved one to a house fire, plus a Faces of Fire article featuring NZers who have lost loved ones in a house fire and those who have escaped – to encourage New Zealanders to make an escape plan themselves.
• A partnership with TVNZ featuring bookends during Breakfast with Matty McLean addressing the importance of escape plans, throughout Escape Week.
• 720 word story full page press ad – telling the story of a house fire breaking out in the middle of the night. The average person can read 720 words in three minutes; the amount of time a house fire can kill you.
• Escape the Paper press executions – the story of a house fire which unfolds over several harrowing pages of the newspaper, helping to build the disorientation of being trapped in a house fire.

• Digital and social elements, with thought-provoking questions such as ‘what if your way was blocked’?
• A 30-second radio and Spotify partnership, exploring the speed of fire.

Credits:

Agency: FCB NZ
Chief Creative Officer: Tony Clewett
Executive Creative Directors: Leisa Wall & Peter VegasSenior Copywriter: David Shirley
Senior Art Director: Melina Fiolitakis
Head of Content Production: Pip MayneGraphic Designer: Josh O’Neill
Retoucher: Scott Kelly
Sound Design: Brendon Morrow

Account Director: Katya Frolova
Account Manager: Charlotta Cutfield
Senior Account Executive: Taylor Wong
Account Executive: Genevieve Barker
Strategist: Hilary Dobson
Managing Director: Sean Keaney
Creative Services Director: Jenni Doubleday
Group Business Director: Alex Bunnell

Account Director Media: Scarlett Harvey
Digital Account Director: Jasmeen Makan
Digital Account Manager: Keegan Flood
Digital Account Executive: Vaughan Young
Search Senior Account Manager: Poornima Chahar
Head of PR, Activation and Social: Angela Spain
PR & Activation Senior Account Manager: Georgia Boyce