It’s Earth Hour tomorrow. We are all asked to switch off our lights for an hour as part of a planet-wide campaign to recognize that the world faces some serious environmental challenges, and that we’re all part of the solution.
But what to do when the lights go out?
Ogilvy & Mather Cape Town (O&M CTwith their long-standing corporate responsibility client, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) have come up with a fun campaign to solve that problem.
“This year we decided to take a different approach to Earth Hour. It seems people know about Earth Hour and what it stands for, but lack real motivation to participate. So instead of Earth Hour feeling like a bit of a chore when we all sit in the dark without being able to do much, we wanted to make it more of a calendar event,” says creative director at O&M CT, Jacques Massardo.
“Our ‘Things To Do In The Dark’ campaign encourages people to participate on the evening, either by doing something in the dark at home with friends and family or by going to dinner in the dark or attending a function in the dark at a participating restaurant or event partner. By giving people something fun to do in the dark we hope to increase participation and observance. This year it was also important that we try and shift people’s behaviour and energy usage beyond just the hour. Hopefully by making being in the dark bearable and even fun, we’ll have gone some way to doing this too.”
The campaign is supported by a TV commercial, print adverts and an interactive Facebook tab that enables users to find out exactly how and where they can celebrate and participate in Earth Hour.
Switch off is between 8.30pm and 9.30pm on 23 March 2013.
