Leo Burnett Chicago Kicks Off the Next Generation of Earth Hour, Activates Global Social Media Campaign Reaching 128 Countries

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Mar 26, 2011, 09:00 ET

CHICAGO, March 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Today and for the fifth year in a row, Leo Burnett and the World Wildlife Fund have partnered to launch Earth Hour, the biggest climate awareness campaign ever, challenging the world to switch off their lights for one hour. This year, Earth Hour and Leo Burnett are encouraging individuals to extend their commitment beyond the hour – "EarthHour+" – and take action in their daily lives against climate change. To support the evolution of the Earth Hour brand and enable every individual to commit to an action, big or small, Earth Hour and Leo Burnett have introduced an aggressive social media campaign designed to create a global movement and conversation online.

"Our goal for Earth Hour 2011 is to reach new, unprecedented heights of social engagement to fuel the single largest act of global participation the world has ever seen," said Carey Isom, Senior Vice President of Digital Strategy at Arc Worldwide/Leo Burnett Worldwide. "As a HumanKind communications company dedicated to putting a brand's purpose at the center of everything we do, we are honored to bring awareness and activation to this very special cause."

Leo Burnett and Earth Hour have implemented a variety of tools and applications allowing people around the world to join the conversation:

"Beyond the Hour" digital platform and iPhone app: share your actions and inspire commitment to the planet
- Digital platform: www.beyondthehour.org
- iPhone mobile app: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/earth-hour-60/id424284662?mt=8&ls=1
Facebook app: "Earth Hour 2011 Lights Out" http://www.facebook.com/earthhour?sk=app_163398673713548
Twitter: keep informed on what's happening across the globe http://twitter.com/earthhour
Foursquare: find out where Chicago is participating and check in http://foursquare.com/earthhouril
YouTube: view Earth Hour television commercials http://www.youtube.com/earthhour

At 8:30 p.m. local time on March 26, millions of people and iconic landmarks in 128 countries and territories across the world will come together to turn off the lights for one thing that unites us all – the planet. A sampling of participating landmarks from across the globe and right here in Chicago include:

Times Square in New York City
Wrigley Field, Soldier Field, Merchandise Mart in Chicago
Eiffel Tower in Paris
Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque, the largest mosque in the United Arab Emirates
Santa Maria del Mar Basilica in Spain
Ngoc Son Temple in Vietnam
Budapest Great Synagogue and the Helsinki Cathedral in Finland
Table Mountain in South Africa
Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe
101 Financial Building in Taiwan
Tokyo Tower in Japan
World Trade Centre Tower 3 in China
Taj Hotels in Mumbai and Delhi
The Savoy and Royal Albert Hall in London
Presidential palaces in Peru, Thailand, Honduras and Sweden
The Sydney Opera House in Australia

Earth Hour is the largest mass participation event in human history and was organized by WWF—an election between Earth and global warming, organized the largest mass participation event in human history. Created by Leo Burnett Sydney in 2007 and carried on by Leo Burnett Chicago, Earth Hour was the first time people of all nationalities, race, ace, gender and religion were able to vote on the future of our planet as one global democracy. Now, just five years later, more than one billion people turned off their lights in celebration of Earth Hour.

About Leo Burnett Company, Inc.

Leo Burnett Worldwide (www.leoburnett.com) is one of the world's largest agency networks and the parent company of Leo Burnett and its marketing services arm, Arc Worldwide. Leo Burnett, a HumanKind communications company, has a simple and singular approach: put a brand's purpose at the center of communications to truly connect with people. Leo Burnett, one of the most awarded creative communications companies in the world, creates "Acts, not just Ads," for some of the world's most valuable brands including The Coca-Cola Company, Kellogg's, McDonald's, Hallmark, P&G, Allstate and Nintendo.

SOURCE Leo Burnett