During the summer of 2023, unprecedented wildfires raged across the country, consuming over 16.5 million hectares of forest. These wildfires filled the skies with dangerous smoke, making Canada’s air quality index (AQI) the worst in the world. Even so, it seemed as if many Canadians were unaware of the dangers of being outside when wildfires were raging.
To make this new danger real to Canadians, we compared it to an old danger: Smoking.
By adopting a look and tone reminiscent of 1980s anti-smoking campaigns, we created a new anti-smoking campaign tailored for the wildfire era. At its core is a powerful visual metaphor — a smoking forest resembling a lit cigarette.
