The Amazon Rainforest Conservancy (ARC) is re-imagining the yule log fireplace channel as footage of actual forests burning to remind people of an issue that has not gone away, even though public attention may have shifted.
The campaign, which can be viewed at RainForestChannel.com, is ARC’s first ever holiday initiative, and was developed by agency Zulu Alpha Kilo. It also includes a 30-second PSA that juxtaposes the familiar holiday image of the crackling Yule Log with a blazing Amazon fire. A super on screen appears reminding viewers, “This holiday, there’s one fire we should all be watching closely.”
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The Amazon Rainforest Conservancy, founded in 2014, works to purchase and secure land in the Amazon for protection and conservation. While the fires in the Amazon were the subject of a lot of media coverage this past summer, the ARC was concerned about its staying power, and is broadcasting #RainforestFireChannel across social media as a vivid reminder.
“In August, everyone was talking about the Amazon burning,” said Jana Bell, president of the Amazon Rainforest Conservancy. “But now with it out of the media, people think the problem has gone away, and it hasn’t.”
ARC will livestream the footage to parallel the fact that every second, the Amazon rainforest is burning. It will play for the month of December, raising awareness and encouraging donations towards the ARC’s efforts to save the Amazon.
According to Zulu Alpha Kilo founder Zak Mroueh, “By transforming an old holiday staple, we wanted to make the message relevant again during the holiday season.”
According to the latest figures from the Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE), there were more than 75,000 fires burning in the Brazilian section of the rainforest alone this year, an 80% increase over the same period in 2018.
Through media agency UM, the PSA will run on TV and in cinema. Additional media will include national OOH and pre-roll on Snapchat.
