Hot & Toxic

Today the Gas Leaks Project, a nonprofit dedicated to exposing the truth about the dangers of methane and the fossil fuel industry's disinformation campaign, launched 'Hot and Toxic,' a national campaign capitalizing on the toxic tropes of reality television to inform and empower consumers of the health and environmental risks associated with so-called ‘natural gas.’

The public service campaign launched this month with a 2-minute film and billboards in Los Angeles and D.C., joining a growing number of creatives turning to comedy to spotlight the climate crisis and its attendant health issues. At more than $1 million, the campaign is considered to be the largest effort the country has ever seen to directly take on the fossil fuel industry’s misleading marketing of ‘natural’ gas, using toxic reality TV personas to highlight the cancer-causing chemicals in methane gas.

One of the challenges faced today when creating public service campaigns is how to deliver important information, without creating a sense of doom that leads to inaction. This is why the campaign uses parody to deliver its message, personifying the 21 hazardous air toxins found in methane gas during a two-minute "trailer” for the “new” reality TV series, which will run in key states with a high percentage of gas stoves.

In one clip, one unsuspecting homeowner must live with these hot and toxic housemates after finding her dream home has a “natural” gas hookup. Every component of the creative campaign, from the trailer to billboards to short-form social content and digital ads appear as a promotion for a new reality TV show.

The campaign comes amid growing attention on the climate, health, safety and economic harms of our dependence on “natural” gas, including the Biden Administration’s recent decision to temporarily pause permitting for new gas export facilities. Gas primarily consists of methane, a greenhouse gas that warms the planet 80 times faster than carbon dioxide. Studies show that methane pollution from fracking, pipelines, storage and export facilities make the full climate impact of gas as bad as coal power. And decades worth of studies have documented that gas stoves produce air toxins linked to asthma and cancer. And industry groups like the American Gas Association have borrowed tobacco industry tactics to mislead the public about the threat.

The public service campaign, which will spend more than $1 million on digital advertisements across social media platforms and streaming TV services, is the single-largest attempt to inform and empower consumers about the public health and environmental harms of methane gas. The Gas Leaks Project will target millennial consumers in a dozen states with a high percentage of homes with gas appliances. The campaign will also be brought to life through out-of-home advertising, social media influencers, and themed events this spring in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

The campaign finds itself in good company, as creatives turn toward standup, 'cringe' comedy, and humor to help scientists deliver sobering messages. “Hot & Toxic” was created by with Zulu Alpha Kilo New York and was directed by Edmond Hawkins, a comedy director, writer, and producer known for his work on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. ‘Methane Monster,’ another public service announcement created by James Hadgis and the Gas Leaks Project and released last year, is a Reed Award finalist.

Z.A.K.’s internal studio Zulubot managed the editing and all post production work on the campaign.