British Gas Shows You What Being More Sustainable Really Looks Like

Launching today is the multimedia advertising campaign from energy and home services provider, British Gas, that aims to uncomplicate the jargon-filled world of sustainability. Public confusion is rife, with British Gas’ own research revealing that 38% of Brits were unsure how to begin their carbon neutral journey, and that over half weren’t sure what the terms ‘net zero’ or ‘carbon neutral’ meant.

Furthermore, 84%  of Brits expect brands to be part of the solution, and British Gas aims to deliver on this promise with both simple education and practical solutions we can all adopt.

The new campaign ‘This is what sustainability looks like’, from British Gas and nucleus, cuts through the clichés and fodder of expected ‘green’ advertising, by championing the mundane realities of living more sustainably. The three 30-second films capture the simple sustainable actions we make every day, from turning down the heating from your phone, plugging in your electric car at home, to flicking the kettle on for a cuppa (on a British Gas zero carbon tariff of course); all set against the epic soundtrack of DJ Snake and Lil Jon’s ‘Turn Down for What?’.

“Sustainability doesn’t have to feel like such a big word. We want to make living sustainably feel as simple and accessible as possible. We’re delighted to launch a campaign that doesn’t just talk about sustainability as a topic for future years, but showcases the real and practical solutions we offer, to make a real difference, starting today - not tomorrow,” said Andy Freeman, marketing director, British Gas. “We want this campaign to show that not only can being a little greener start at home, but that there are already very real, very ‘everyday’ solutions out there to start making a big difference. Stripping away at the confusion around the journey to net zero, we’re celebrating the everyday sustainable moments which will all add up to a better world.”

The campaign will launch multiple executions across TV and VOD, as well as appearing on the big screen across UK cinemas. Digital and OOH channels hero the seemingly mundane looking sustainable products in a white world, with digital channels using the latest in attention tracking metrics to gauge consumer engagement. 

Micky Tudor, executive creative director, nucleus, comments: “We wanted work that was the opposite of most sustainability campaigns. No swaying trees or fields of green. No kids looking hopefully into the distance at a brighter future. No greenwashing. Just saying it like it is. Keeping it simple and showing the real things that we are actually doing right now to help people and the planet be more sustainable. The resulting campaign’s power is in its brutal simplicity and confidence. Straight talking, fun and unlike anything you’d expect from British Gas.” 

True to the net zero ambitions of British Gas, the core of the campaign’s OOH activity will focus on using oversized, impactful paper sites in areas of high pollution which use air cleaning technology to purify the atmosphere around them. Going live in a couple of weeks, these will also be fully recyclable formats and will even be used to power people’s homes once discarded. This entire campaign will be offset using a carbon calculator, an industry-first tool developed by MediaCom and CO2balance, as the brand continues leading by example on green marketing.

Further to this, sustainability was also a focus throughout the production and planning of the campaign. Using greener solutions where possible and offsetting both production and media emissions, the brand continues to lead by example on marketing sustainably.

After the successful win of the Centrica business in July 2019, this is the second campaign for nucleus, a bespoke agency model for Centrica. nucleus integrates creative and strategic talents of The&Partnership, MediaCom, WundermanThompson and BCW, and was set up to put data-led and insight customer planning at the heart of Centrica’s marketing communications.