Who: Gas Leaks Project, a non-profit dedicated to exposing the harms of natural gas and the fossil fuel industry's disinformation campaign, with Zulu Alpha Kilo for creative and strategy; Method + Madness for production (directed by Edmond Hawkins); Zulubot for post production; Barking Owl for audio; and Zulumatic for media.
What: “Hot and Toxic,” a national PSA campaign that uses reality TV tropes to highlight the dangers of the 21 toxins in natural gas.
When & Where: The U.S. campaign is anchored by a two-minute film for digital and social, streaming TV, supported by a dedicated microsite, influencer content, OOH, and themed events. Like the trailer style video ad, every component appears as a promotion for a new reality TV show, with the $1-million media buy representing one of the largest efforts to directly challenge the fossil fuel industry’s misleading marketing of "natural" gas, according to Gas Leaks.
Why: Recent studies of natural gas have urged the public to consider the negative impacts of exposure on both the climate and personal health, but “it’s not always easy or accessible for people to understand,” said Gas Leaks executive director James Hadgis, in a release.
The effects of natural gas on climate change are particularly topical right now since the Biden Administration’s recent decision to temporarily pause pending decisions for new gas export facilities, a signal to gas producers and buyers that the US is beginning to factor climate change into its international energy policies. Meanwhile industry groups like the American Gas Association have been accused of using tobacco industry tactics to convince consumers to keep buying gas stoves.
Gas Leaks is clapping back, using its own tactic (humour), to inform consumers of the dangers of natural gas in the home. “The gas industry has been lying to us for decades,” said Hadgis. “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."
How: “Hot and Toxic” aims to convey easily comprehensible information about natural gas in a way that is informative and eye-opening but not anxiety inducing in the way that many PSA ads can be.
Using parody to deliver the message, the 21 air toxins found in methane gas are personified as “toxic” characters of a reality TV show, all of whom have taken over the house of one unsuspecting home owner named Janet.
In the two-minute trailer style ad, Janet introduces herself to the camera as a new homeowner who is excited about her dream home and the “gorgeous” gas stove that comes with the kitchen.
“But with all that natural gas, Janet has unknowingly let some explosive personalities into her home,” says the narrator, as “Nitrogen Dioxide” aka Di walks into the scene. “You can call me Di, because this body is to die for, and I’ll probably make you die,” she says.
The spot leans into the tropes, showing the characters drinking, partying, and even making out against the natural gas stove (which causes the burner to turn on unknowingly). It’s a rude awakening for Janet, who “thought ‘natural gas’ was safe.” At the end, the super reads “The toxic reality of ‘natural gas’, now airing… in your home,” and redirects to the microsite.
“I thought the way our team brought this important issue to the forefront in such a creative way was refreshing,” said Zulu Alpha Kilo founder and creative chairman Zak Mroueh, in a release. “Every extension plays on the tropes of reality TV, but it educates people on the dangers of ‘natural’ gas in such an unexpected way.”
The campaign is accompanied by 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.
