Sound Literally Puts Out Flame in Art Installation Proving Audio Isn’t “Poor Cousin”

Commercial Radio & Audio (CRA) and Thinkerbell are showcasing the power of audio in a new campaign that uses soundwaves to extinguish a flame.

“Audio can start a movement, and there’s never been a revolution without a song. So we liked this idea that audio could light a fire in you,” Thinkerbell’s national chief thinker Adam Ferrier told LBB.

Drawing on System1 research developed in partnership with CRA, the work centres around a specially-designed audio score that, set at the right frequency, has the power to literally put out a fire. The work also marks the first use of CRA’s new sonic brand identity, created by audio specialist David Konsky.

“We started with wanting to create an emotional reaction. Audio is too often left to be the poor cousin of other media. However, its big power is big emotion. Life’s better with a soundtrack. A walk is better while listening to a podcast. We wanted people to feel something,” Adam said. 

“We then felt like the metaphor of lighting a fire and putting one out was interesting.”

Thinkerbell worked in partnership with sonic specialists MassiveMusic and art collective Glue Society to prove the power of an invisible force.

“The main issue is that audio is really good at lots of things and we wanted to grab people’s attention and show how powerful audio really is,” said Adam.

“The visual metaphor and experiment with the fire was a great way to get off platform and have a conversation about the power of audio in a visual space – without sounding too meta.”

When it came to creating a physical space in which the flame would be extinguished, Adam said, ”We knew from our research that audio can put out fire, but we never knew it could be done so beautifully until we worked with the good people at Glue Society.”

“Sesh [Moodley, executive creative director], Hilary [O'Sullivan, senior account manager] and Lucas [Fowler, lead tinker], shared the idea with The Glue Society. They all then sat around for a while and scratched their heads. Then it all just came to life.”

He laughed, “I’m sure there were more details than that but you’d have to ask them.”

Lizzie Young, CEO of CRA, said the campaign “doesn’t just talk about the power of audio, it proves it in the real world.”

“Audio is uniquely positioned to influence behaviour - it connects emotionally, can adapt in real time, and reaches audiences in the moments that matter,” Lizzie added. 

“The ‘Power of Audio’ sets a benchmark for what’s possible when you combine insight, creativity, and context with audio’s unmatched ability to engage at scale. It’s exactly what we encourage brands to do: harness the full potential of audio to work harder, cut through, and deliver growth.”

The team at Glue Society said, “When we first heard that sound can put out flames, it felt almost impossible to believe. But creating an art installation that proved it to be true was something we couldn’t wait to sink our teeth into. The result is a bit magical, a bit scientific and a bit wonderful. And genuine proof of the power of audio. Hearing is believing”. 

The System1 research was launched by Andrew Tindall on a visit to Australia in February. At CRA's HEARD conference, he revealed zero Australian radio or audio advertisements have “strong or exceptional brand recognition, which is really surprising."

"The average brand recognition from an Aussie radio campaign is 68%, so nearly a third of people can't recognise what brand [the ad is for]," he said.

“Audio advertising should put on a show. It should be more broadly entertaining to leave people feeling more positive.”