WWF | EARTH HOUR | 2009
One hour of darkness became a gateway to changing the world / WWF "EARTH HOUR"
Just turn off the lights for one hour. That's it—and with that simple act, hundreds of millions of people around the world made a statement about climate change. It's a simple but powerful campaign. Earth Hour started in Sydney in 2007, and by 2009 it had grown to an incredible scale.
The insight
The key had to be giving people who feel their individual actions are powerless a tangible sense that they're actually taking part. By having everyone around the world do something as simple as turning off the lights at the exact same time, it turned a lonely act into a collective movement.
The idea
Every year, on the last Saturday of March, lights go out around the world for one hour starting at 8:30 pm. Landmarks, companies, and households all switch off their lights at the same time, casting a vote for the planet. It's almost too simple—and that's exactly what makes it so powerful.
Afterthought
There isn't much detail to go on, but the fact that this campaign is still running nearly 20 years later says it all. This is what the strength of an idea really looks like. No complicated explanations, no flashy production needed. Just saying "let's turn it off" was enough to move the whole world.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Gold 2009
