Leading up to COP26 in 2021, YouTube wanted to ignite action against climate change and raise money for sustainable NGOs. Our target? Gen Z—a generation immune to advertising and corporate bulllshit. We had to find a way to break through. So, we turned to social media to see how Gen Z described the climate crisis—and noticed they kept using the same phrase over and over: The planet is f**ked. Our campaign call-to-action was born. If the planet is f**ked, then we all have to unf**k it.

The UnF**k It campaign launched on October 14, 2021 and included social media, the creation of five original YouTube shows, and The UnF**k It Challenge on YouTube Shorts—a social challenge for YouTube Creators and Gen Z to make short videos showing everyday things we can all do to help heal the Earth.

In 2021, YouTube sought to create an actionable sustainability campaign leading into COP26. Looking around, we realized that so much of the conversation around climate change felt defeatist—e.g., the planet is doomed and we’re all screwed. But our target, Gen Z, isn’t apathetic about the environment; they’re optimistic—agitating for change and looking for brands to incite action. Of course, Gen Z is also a generation immune to advertising and highly skeptical of corporate bullshit. We had to find a way to break through.

We started by listening. We took to social media to see how Gen Z described the climate crisis—and noticed they kept using the same phrase in jest: The planet is f**ked. So we took their words and turned them into a blunt but humorous call-to-action: If the planet is f**ked, it’s everyone’s job to unf**k it. The campaign idea was born.

Our sustainability work sought to improve brand perception metrics by showing Gen Z YouTube’s commitment to inspiring social change and fighting the climate crisis. Targeted toward 16–24 year-old YouTube viewers, our campaign had to break through the typical doom and gloom of environmental advertising and get Gen Z's attention.

First, we listened. So much of the social conversation from corporations was defeatist—but Gen Z doesn’t feel this way at all. They aren’t apathetic. They are optimistic, constantly agitating for change, and looking for brands to do something positive to incite action.

So we took a page from their book. We reflected Gen Z’s attitude on climate change and don’t-give-a-f**k spirit in our work, challenging people across the globe to “unf**k” the planet. The UnF**k It campaign launched in the weeks leading up to COP26, landing our message in a moment primed for action.

The UnF**k It campaign launched on October 18, 2021 and included four original shows developed by YouTube, comprehensive social media and on-platform advertising, and The UnF**k It Challenge on YouTube Shorts, an initiative that inspired Gen Z to create short videos showcasing tangible actions to help heal the planet.