Fire and Emergency NZ launches heartfelt takeover to showcase importance of fire safety via Motion Sickness, MBM and oOh!media NZ

The museum styled exhibition features an array of charred artefacts retrieved from New Zealand house fires.

The Museum of Fires Past gives Kiwis an up-close and personal view of the harsh reality of a house fire, emphasising the importance of having a functioning smoke alarm. All of the items displayed were carefully crafted to accurately resemble the devastating effects of fire, with each telling a genuine story of destruction and survival.

The artefacts are displayed on spotlighted plinths, with the stories etched onto a plaque. The owners all escaped with their lives due to functioning smoke alarms in their homes. The Museum of Fires Past can be found in a series of bus shelter activations, supported by wider social, digital, radio and out-of-home across New Zealand. The message outlines the true stories, along with where to install a smoke alarm.

Says Luke Burgess, senior risk reduction specialist, Fire and Emergency: “We hope to never have people involved in a serious house fire, however, we can’t stress enough the importance of having working smoke alarms installed in every bedroom, living area and hallway of your house. A working smoke alarm may not have saved their belongings, but it did save their lives.”

This year, Fire and Emergency has responded to around 2,800 fires. Over half of these didn’t have smoke alarms or had smoke alarms that weren’t working. Tragically, some of these fires resulted in loss of life.

Says Burgess” “Too many times we’ve attended house fires where smoke alarms haven’t been installed or were installed in the wrong place. Property and belongings can be replaced but loved ones never can.”

Says Kelley Toy, marketing manager, Fire & Emergency NZ: “Partnering with oOh!media MBM and Motion Sickness has been a fundamental part in bringing this idea to life. We really needed this campaign to have a lasting impression on those who see it to emphasise that having working smoke alarms in every bedroom, hallway and living area in your home could save your life.”

Says Andrew Hathaway and Kelly France, creative team from Motion Sickness: “When confronted with a severely burnt personal item, naturally you assume the worst. We wanted to show Kiwis that although a fire may rob you of your belongings, it doesn’t have to rob you of your life. Housing the creative in the space of a museum felt like an interesting hook, as you’d usually expect the artefacts displayed to belong to people that are no longer alive. A lost item doesn’t have to mean a lost life.”

The Motion Sickness team are really pleased to get this work underway with Fire and Emergency New Zealand, and look forward to sharing some more exciting work later in the year.

Says Ben Gibb, head of sales, oOh!media NZ: “This is the first time oOh! will be using a sequential studio takeover build to tell such an important story, utilising three of oOh!’s key shelters. If we can do our part to remind Kiwis of the importance of having working smoke alarms, we could save a life, which is a pretty great feeling.”

Client: Fire and Emergency New Zealand
Media Agency: MBM
Out of Home Agency: oOh!media NZ

Creative Agency: Motion Sickness
Executive Creative Director: Sam Stuchbury
Creative Director: Jordan Stent
Creative: Kelly France
Creative: Andrew Hathaway
Senior Designer: Hamish Steptoe
Designer: Nick Jamieson
Head of Strategy: Hilary Ngan Kee
Account Manager: Priya Marshall
Agency Producer: Joseph McAlpine

Photographer: Toaki Okano
Props Designer: Joseph Leary
Retoucher: Kai Bernstein