Young talent from Wavemaker and Ogilvy have begun producing and selling Smoggys, a brand of P2 pollution masks created to raise money for the Rural Fire Service.
After exceeding the $10,000 Go Fund Me target, Wavemaker’s Bec Drummond and Marco Del Castillo and Ogilvy’s Jack Burton and Lucas Fowler have opened pre-orders for $20 masks adorned with ‘bin chickens’ or koalas. Ogilvy Sydney and Wavemaker Australia each donated $1,275 to get the project off the ground.
The koala design is one of two available for pre-order
The idea to create the patterned P2 masks, which help to limit exposure to toxic smoke and particles, came about after Australians started wearing masks to combat inhalation of bushfire smoke and the WPP employees decided ‘thoughts and prayers’ were no longer enough.
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“It is down to the support of our nation that Smoggys has come to life as an operating business, set to make a real difference,” said Smoggys co-founder and Wavemaker strategy director, Marco Del Castillo.
“Smoggys’ aim is to protect our nation from the smoke and act as a public symbol that Aussies have come together to help and support our firies.”
This week, the industry also launched a pro bono campaign – voiced by Eric Bana – in support of the Gippsland Emergency Relief Fund, which distributes financial help to people whose homes and properties have been destroyed in the area. The effort, spearheaded by TBWA, its Melbourne CEO Kimberlee Wells, and IPG’s new CEO Mark Coad, has attracted support and donations from major outdoor and TV media owners.
The Smoggys team: Lucas Fowler, Bec Drummond, Jack Burton and Marco Del Castillo
At least 136 fires continue to rage across the country, with at least 24 people dead, more than 1,300 houses destroyed in New South Wales alone, half a billion animals incinerated, and 6.3m hectares burnt. In comparison, 900,000 hectares were lost in the Amazon fires last year, and 800,000 in 2018’s Californian wildfires.
“As a nation, we are indebted to the heroes and heroines of the RFS, who are out on the front line fighting the fires, day in and day out,” added Ogilvy copywriter and Smoggys co-founder, Lucas Fowler.
“While we are in the cities complaining about the smoke, there are people in the bush doing it far worse and we need to unite together to support the firies as much as we can, so that they can continue to protect us and our land.”
The ‘bin chicken’ Smoggys design
With all profits going to the RFS, Smoggys joins a list of donation initiatives such as Twitter’s #AuthorsForFireys, which sees writers including Leigh Sales, Annabel Crabb, Benjamin Law, Jamila Rizvi and Rick Morton auction off items such as signed books and meals with the authors.
A slew of businesses have chosen to donate a lump sum, or a slice of sales or profits, to bushfire-related charities. Celebrities like Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett used yesterday’s Golden Globes as a platform to encourage support, and comedian and influencer Celeste Barber’s Facebook fundraiser has cracked the $40m mark.
Smoggys can be pre-ordered here.
If you’d like to assist with bushfire recovery, relief and rescue efforts, please explore the options below: