The London Fire Brigade is returning to television advertising with
a new campaign through McCann-Erickson London.
The drive will run on London Weekend Television for the next year, with
a different ten-second execution being used each month. The campaign
attempts to shock Londoners into installing smoke alarms by reporting a
running tally of the number of people killed each month because of house
fires.
All of the ads follow the same format, showing different everyday
objects, all scarred by fire, against a stark white background.
Telephones, mountain bikes and vacuum cleaners will be accompanied by a
list of those who have died in the previous month, while the voiceover
explains the need for an alarm.
The ad will first air in the commercial break for London Tonight on 9
November, and is linked to a special feature in the news broadcast.
The service has previously used poster campaigns in an attempt to drive
take-up of smoke alarms, particularly among members of the Asian
community.
"The campaign is simple but effective," the London Fire Brigade's senior
divisional officer, Ian Hughes, said. "Just by highlighting normal,
household objects that everyone can relate to, we are communicating the
horror of a fire and the damage it can do to people's lives."
The campaign was written, art directed and directed by Damon Hutson
Flynn and produced by Mick Niggar for 24 FPS Films. Media planning and
buying is through Universal McCann.
