In Poland, about 100 people die every year to carbon monoxide poisoning, and one of the culprits are malfunctioning vent systems.
There are fancy hi-tech systems to detect carbon monoxide to save your life, but there is also a free and reliable life-saving hack. All you need is a piece of paper. The difference in pressure moves the air through the house and the flowing air creates a draft in the vents, so if you place a piece of paper against a properly working vent inlet, it will stick. If it doesn’t, the vent is blocked and you better call for help.
To teach 40 million Poles this simple life-saving hack, Grey Group Poland partnered with the Polish National Fire Department and the biggest retailers in Poland.
The problem of carbon monoxide poisoning occurs mainly in the homes of less wealthy Poles, who have old stoves and vent systems. Such people are often price-sensitive, and they pay attention to promotional leaflets, so the agency leaned on this insight to add short information to direct advertising of Pepco, Lewiatan and Złote Tarasy.
“if you place this piece of paper on a properly working vent system, it will stick to it. If it doesn’t stick it means the vent is blocked, and you have to call for help. You are at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning” reads the copy on the leaflets.
This simple hack was used in many Polish homes and gave the families a peace of mind.
An ordinary sheet of paper became a simple tech item, saving lives all over Poland. As part of this campaign, 28 million “vent-inspection ads” were distributed in 3,500 stores.
Project team:
Clients: Pepco, Lewiatan, Złote Tarasy, The National Fire Service of Poland
Creative agency: Grey Group Poland
Executive Creative Director: Jakub Korolczuk
Art Director: Dominika Hałas
Copywriter: Jakub Korolczuk, Marek Górski
Additional credits: Per Pedersen, Anna Pańczyk, Adam Śmiłowski, Rafał Ryś, , Anna Green, Aleksandra Śliwińska, Izabela Łukaszewska – Grygoruk, Weronika Kendra, Dominika Jezierska, Karolina Gruza
