According to the World Health Organization, there are 4.2 million deaths every year as a result of air pollution. BreezoMeter are a small company with big ambitions. They currently help cities and businesses improve the health and quality of life for millions of people worldwide, by providing the most accurate air quality data. But it’s BreezoMeter aim to reach more than 6 billion people (85% of the world’s population) who live in areas where WHO air quality guidelines are exceeded. To do this, they needed to raise their profile with a publicity generating idea that would not only to get the public on side, but those in a position of power – the lawmakers and corporations who use their product. To get the kind of exposure they were after, we needed people to see their product in a new light. Not just as numbers on a screen, but in a way that humanized it and made it relevant to them, where it mattered most: outdoors.

We re-purposed a typical roadside memorial, symbolic of death, to bring the problem to life. But Toxic Toby is more than just a teddy bear memorial, he’s an audio-visual warning system and environmental lobbyist. Powered by live, location-based air quality data, Toby coughs when pollution is high. The higher the pollution level, the more he coughs. Every cough generated a tweet lobbying the local MP to improve regulations.

The campaign launched on 21^stSeptember 2018, Zero Emissions Day, with Toby debuting on London’s most polluted street – Brixton Road – according to BreezoMeter’s data. Toby was then placed in further pollution blackspots near schools and in high footfall areas, garnered through analysis of BreezoMeter’s data, raising awareness where it was needed most. Toby soon became incorporated into school lessons. And before long, other clean air groups, including the World Health Organization, called for Toby to represent them. Toby received worldwide media attention and soon became the international advocate for the issue. Toby went beyond shining a light to actually influencing UK environmental legislation, turning him from a local utility, to the global face of air pollution.