This spot from Los Angeles-based creative agency FF (founded by Fred & Farid) portrays a family in their morning routine acting as if everything were normal, despite fires burning all around their house. The campaign is inspired by the famous quote from Greta Thunberg, teen environmental activist and the founder of climate organization Fridays For Future. During her speech at the 2019 World Economic Forum in Davos, she said : “I want you to act as if our house is on fire. Because it is.” At the same event the following year Thunberg repeated her plea: “Our house is still on fire and your inaction is fueling the flames by the hour.”
Joe Hobbs, organizer at Fridays For Future US, explained: “We believe it’s time people realize that climate change isn’t going to happen, but that it’s already happening. You may have become accustomed to it, but it’s a serious problem we face on a daily basis. Unfortunately, we’ve moved past the time where it’s enough just to be worried. We need an immediate collective action. We hope that by watching this video people will realize they need to take action now, instead of putting it off until later”.
The “Our House Is On Fire” spot, released on Earth Day (4/22), will also open an important digital event for Fridays For Future on April 24. The organization will launch an unprecedented 24-hour climate change livestream, featuring countries from all around the world.
In a joint statement, Fred & Farid, FF’s founders, shared, “We are proud to work with Fridays For Future again on this project. This young and highly inspiring organization founded by visionary activist Greta Thunberg is making a huge impact and our agency is honored to help in any way that we can.”
For the film, FF partnered with director Andrew Bruntel of production company Ways & Means, as well as editorial house Exile, Method Studios for visual effects and Company 3 for color grading.
This film marks the second collaboration between FF and Fridays For Future. In 2019, they worked together to develop a local tourism campaign called “Local Warming,” revisiting vintage tourism posters from across the world, revealing what they would look like through the lens of today’s climate change reality.
