Brief Explanation

On Saturday, 7 February 2009, a series of bushfires devastated large swathes of the Australian state of Victoria. They occurred during extreme conditions and resulted in Australia's highest ever loss of life from a bushfire. 173 people died and 414 were injured. Three years on from “Black Saturday”, people hadn’t forgotten the damage. But they were becoming complacent about the danger and the need to be prepared for bushfires. (Research indicated over 70% of people living in high-risk areas did not have or know their bushfire plan). For the summer of 2011, the challenge was given to Ogilvy Melbourne to develop a communications campaign aimed at jolting people out of their complacency and encouraging action around the dangers of bushfires. Our creative people worked closely with bushfire victims, who sent the strong message that the work needed to be hard-hitting. This sixty-second TV commercial aired in the weeks leading up to summer. It aimed to emphasise the importance of being prepared for a bushfire, especially for those people living in regional high-risk areas.