Earth Hour on March 28.

04, Mar. 2009

Earth Hour is fast approaching. Turn your lights off on Saturday March 28 from 8:30pm- 9:30pm.

WWF says “Millions of Canadians will turn off their lights on March 28th for Earth Hour in support of action on climate change. We hope to make Earth Hour even bigger this year but we need your help! Earth Hour 2008 in Toronto. Turn off your lights on Saturday March 28, 2009 at 8:30 pm. Millions of Canadians will turn off their lights on March 28th for Earth Hour in support of action on climate change. We hope to make Earth Hour even bigger this year but we need your help! Encourage your friends and family to participate. Get your business or workplace involved. And don’t stop at turning off the lights. Think about what else can be done to reduce your footprint like taking transit, unplugging unused electrical appliances and washing your clothes in cold water. The list is endless and your action will make a big difference.”

Carey Toane of Strategy Magazine says “Unless you’ve been living under a rock, there’s no need to explain that the poster to the left is the work of street artist Shepard Fairey”. The “Vote Earth” concept designed for Earth Hour ‘09 is easily linked to the artist’s “Hope” portrait of Barack Obama.

Commissioned by Leo Burnett and WWF, the poster will appear in Canada in a PSA, wild posting and online as part of the first global marketing effort since Earth Hour was born in Australia three years ago, says WWF-Canada president Gerald Butts. “This is the one opportunity that citizens all over the world have to come together and say “We’re concerned about climate change,” he says, adding that the goal is to get one billion participants this year. “Shepard very cleverly picked up on the ‘light switch and vote’ concept and indicated that [this] is your way of voicing your vote on climate change.”
The hope is that Fairey fans will literally steal the poster – although it’s also available for download from wwf.ca/earthhour – and get the message to turn off their lights for one hour at 8:30 p.m. on March 28. “It’s a quintessential viral campaign,” says Butts, adding that 10 million Canadians spent an hour in the dark last year – more than any other country.”