Natural gas. Sound innocuous, doesn’t it? Well, that overlooks the studies that show that gas stoves pollute the air in kitchens and release toxins linked to asthma and cancer.
Zulu Alpha Kilo New York and the Gas Leaks Project, a non-profit dedicated to exposing the truth about the dangers of methane and the fossil fuel industry’s disinformation campaign, have launched something that people won’t overlook. Because people love reality TV. Hot & Toxic is the world’s first attempt to use reality TV tropes to inform the public about these very real health threats. Because if there ever is a time when people are open to bad news or things going wrong…it’s watching reality TV.
In a 2-minute “trailer” for a “new” reality TV series, the campaign uses humour and parody to help educate consumers on the health and environmental risks associated with natural gas.
The public service campaign launched this month with a 2-minute film and billboards in Los Angeles and D.C.
One of the challenges faced today when creating public service campaigns is how to deliver important information, without creating a sense of doom that leads to inaction. This is why the campaign uses parody to deliver its message, personifying the 21 hazardous air toxins found in methane gas in a reality TV series, that will run in key states with a high percentage of gas stoves.
In one clip, one unsuspecting homeowner must live with these hot and toxic housemates after finding her dream home has a natural gas hook-up. Every component of the creative campaign, from the trailer to billboards to short-form social content and digital ads appear as a promotion for a new reality TV show.
“While recent studies have created a sense of urgency around the elevated health risks associated with methane gas in the home, it’s not always easy or accessible for people to understand,” stated James Hadgis, executive director of the Gas Leaks Project. “Our Hot & Toxic parody campaign uses comedy to deliver a really urgent message — that methane gas is hot for the planet and toxic for your health.”
The campaign comes amid growing attention in the US on the climate, health, safety and economic harms of our dependence on natural gas, including the Biden Administration’s recent decision to temporarily pause permissions for new gas export facilities. Gas primarily consists of methane, a greenhouse gas that warms the planet 80 times faster than carbon dioxide. Studies show that methane pollution from fracking, pipelines, storage and export facilities make the full climate impact of gas as bad as coal power. And decades worth of studies have documented that gas stoves produce air toxins linked to asthma and cancer. And industry groups like the American Gas Association have borrowed tobacco industry tactics to mislead the public about the threat.
The public service campaign, which will spend more than $1 million on digital advertisements across social media platforms and streaming TV services, is the single-largest attempt to inform and empower consumers about the public health and environmental harms of methane gas. The Gas Leaks Project will target millennial consumers in a dozen states with a high percentage of homes with gas appliances. The campaign will also cover out-of-home advertising, social media influencers, and themed events this spring in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
Zulu Alpha Kilo New York’s How & Toxic was directed by Edmond Hawkins, a comedy director, writer, and producer known for his work on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Methane Monster, another public service announcement created by James Hadgis and the Gas Leaks Project and released last year, is a Reed Award finalist.
“We’re bombarded with bad news every day. There are so many serious issues that it’s easy to become desensitized to them,” said Tim Gordon, partner & chief creative officer for Zulu Alpha Kilo NY. “Humour felt like the smartest creative way in—we wanted to educate people on the dangers of ‘natural’ gas without making them feel bad about it. Every creative extension of the campaign borrows from the tropes of promoting reality TV—something people can’t help but watch, especially when things go wrong.”
“The gas industry has been lying to us for decades,” Hadgis added. “Humour brings us together because it’s funny and because it’s true. And allows us to get to the heart of this absurd story — ‘natural’ gas is anything but natural.”
In conjunction with Hot & Toxic, the Gas Leaks Project is launching a petition to the Consumer Product Safety Commission asking that they require manufacturers and distributors of gas stoves to include warning labels informing consumers about the dangerous health impacts. Health leaders in states like Illinois and California have pushed the need for better consumer information on stoves and the Consumer Product Safety Commission recently solicited information on their harms.
Credits:
Client: Gas Leaks
Client Team: James Hadgis, Rachael Smith, Maria Luisa Cesar, Topher Lorette, Caleb Heeringa
Agency: Zulu Alpha Kilo
Creative Chairman: Zak Mroueh
Chief Creative Officer: Tim Gordon
Creative Directors: Dan Cummings, Vic Bath
Copywriter: Tilden Lincoln
Art Director: Lizzie Cox
Executive Producer: Katie Harris
Account Team: Meghan Mullen, Caroline Engram, Ela Profka
Head of Strategy: Emily Garvey
Strategy Director: Spencer MacEachern
Communications Planning Director: Annie Yuan
Production Company: Method + Madness
Executive Producers: Jonathan Becker, Casey Lock
Director: Edmond Hawkins
Director of Photography: Dominic Easter
Photographer: Mary Beth Koeth
Line Producer: Alex Leach
Production Coordinator: Dave Forrest
Casting Director: Arenas Casting
Editing: Zulubot
Editor: Max Lawlor
Assistant Editor: Adrian Gluvakovich
Senior Producer: Lena Hamady
Telecine & Online Artist: Felipe Chaparro
VFX Artist: Miguel Natividad
Audio Company: Barking Owl
Executive Producer: Ashley Benton
Producer: Jenna Pangilinan
Mixer: Mikayla Peterson
