After landing the client without a pitch earlier this month, Droga5 has debuted its first work for NRG Energy, with the 90-second spot “The Power Behind the Plug.”
The ad opens with a series of shots meant to represent a city and its power grid, followed by the question, “Have you ever stopped to think about the power behind the plug?” This question introduces the premise of travelers in an airport being given the option of plugging into outlets labeled “Solar Energy,” “Wind Energy” or “Fossil Fuels,” with the action captured on hidden camera. Unsurprisingly, the majority of people choose the eco-friendly options, with a few schmucks sticking to fossil fuels because they plugged in without reading the signs. Near the end of the spot, one man unplugs one of the “Fossil Fuel” phones and relocates it to the nearby “Wind Power” plug, annoyed by another person’s apathy. Whether or not you believe the hidden camera gimmick, the spot effectively communicates the message that, given the option, people will generally choose more environmentally friendly energy options. It ends with the message, “We’re changing the power behind the plug just the way you would.”
That claim isn’t solely lip service either, as, while NRG currently relies strongly on fossil fuels, the company has pledged to cut its carbon emissions in half by 2030 and by 90 percent by 2050. Some may question if that is a fast enough turnaround for a company which, as Adweek points out, was found to have the 12th largest share of carbon emissions by a company nationally in a 2011 University of Massachusetts Amherst study. Still, NRG is making the transition to ecological sustainability and Droga5’s new spot aims to raise awareness over such issues, even if it simultaneously gives the company a pat on the back which it perhaps has yet to earn.
Credits:
Client: NRG
Campaign: Power Behind The Plug
Title: Power Behind The Plug
Launch Date: 7/29/15
Agency: Droga5 NY
Creative Chairman: David Droga
Chief Creative Officer Ted Royer
Executive Creative Director: Neil Heymann
Creative Director: Rick Dodds
Creative Director: Steve Howell
Copywriter: German Rivera Hudders
Art Director: J.J. Kraft
Chief Creation Officer: Sally-Ann Dale
Head of Broadcast Production: Ben Davies
Executive Broadcast Producer: Matt Nowak
Head of Integrated Business Affairs: Dianne Richter
Sr. Integrated Production Business Manager: Matt Friday
Global Chief Strategy Officer: Jonny Bauer
Head of Strategy: Chet Gulland
Group Strategy Director: Harry Roman
Strategy Director: Dan Wilkos
Sr. Communications Strategist: Elsa Stahura
Communications Strategist: Parks Middleton
Social Strategy Director: Tom Hyde
Senior Social Strategist: Calvin Stowell
Group Account Director: Matt Ahumada
Account Director: Kristoffer Aldorsson
Account Manager: Michelle Villarreal
Project Manager: Connor Hall
Designer: April Pascua
Production Company: Stink
Director: Kosai Sekine
DOP: Dimitri Karakatsanis
DOP: Michael Svitak
Executive Producer: James Cunningham
Producer: Scott Pourroy
Editorial: Lost Planet
Editor: Charlie Johnston
Executive Producer: Kristyn Wagenberg
Producer: Taylor Colbert
Post Production: The Mill
EP/Head of Production: Sean Costelleo
Producer: Mandy Harris
Colorist: Michael Rossiter
VFX Supervisor Jade Kim
2D Lead Artist: David Forcada
2D Artist: Heather Kennedy
Music: A Place Called New York
Company name: Hiroko Sebu
Sound: Jodi Levine
Company name: Heard City
Sound Design: Tim Barnes