LONDON — PR agencies from around the world have collaborated to launch a campaign for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) that underlines the urgent action needed to tackle the climate crisis.

The ‘Weather Kids’ campaign has been developed and rolled out with the support of 45 PR and advertising agencies and industry organisations, and is the first activation since the UNDP and global PR industry umbrella body ICCO announced a partnership last November to address communications challenges around climate change.

After the announcement, the UNDP and ICCO set up a Climate Communications Taskforce to develop PR campaigns. Chris Pratt, managing director of Hill & Knowlton’s Better Impact division, was appointed co-chair of the taskforce, alongside UNDP chief creative officer Boaz Paldi.

The Weather Kids campaign features children from around the world 'hijacking'  local and national TV weather reports – with support from broadcasters – to deliver forecasts from the future. The segments warn viewers of the catastrophic risks rising temperatures will bring to people and the global economy in just a few decades, including a projected impact on 94% of the world’s children.

The PR objective of the campaign is to achieve tier one press coverage in all partner markets, with the aim of motivating adults to take a pledge that commits them to changing their habits for the benefit of children in their life.

Before the ICCO/UNDP partnership, the creative idea had been developed by Los Angeles-based purpose-driven agency, Activista. The earned media campaign has been rolled out pro bono by PR partners around the world, including Hill & Knowlton, Ogilvy and Omnicom, with early and positive earned coverage ranging from CNN and Fox News in the US to every major broadsheet in India. 

A call for support from the global PR community after the UNDP/ICCO partnership was announced led to commitment from agencies from the US, Canada, Australia, the UK, Northern Ireland, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Czechia, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Hungary, Turkey, UAE, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.

Paldi said: “We know PR is an integral component in fighting climate change and this campaign has reinforced that substantially. I have been blown away by the scale of support from ICCO’s members for Weather Kids. The commitment to contribute from so many different organisations, countries, cultures, languages is unlike anything I’ve seen before. This is the biggest climate campaign ever and gives great hope for the future of the children at the heart of Weather Kids.”

Pratt added: “It has been an honour to lead the taskforce alongside Boaz, with such a talented group of PR experts delivering fantastic earned media for this campaign worldwide. The scale and diversity of support from the PR community demonstrates the nature of the issue we are seeking to tackle. This affects us all and I am sure Weather Kids is just the beginning in turning the tide and making a difference for the future of the planet.”

ICCO president Grzegorz Szczepanski said: “When the UNDP pitched the idea to ICCO at Cannes Lions last year, we thought ‘wow – I am not sure anything like this has been done before’, but of course we couldn’t refuse. Climate communications was already a top priority for ICCO and its members, and I had faith in our network to deliver to the high standards and ambitious objectives. They didn’t let us down.

"This campaign has brought together ICCO members from over 30 countries and it is just the start of our UNDP partnership. It is great credit to our members that PR is being recognised as integral to solving the great global challenges of our times”.