Kiss Oil Goodbye
In the latest evolution of Mercury’s Energy Made Wonderful campaign we’re encouraging Kiwis to break up with their old gas guzzling partners and make the move to a cleaner, happier future.
Mercury’s new brand campaign, launching this week, calls on Kiwis to “kiss oil goodbye” and join the electric revolution.
The aim of the new campaign is to support a more sustainable future by encouraging Kiwis to break up with petrol and diesel vehicles in favour of the growing choice of EVs and other electric transport options.
Commenting on the campaign, Chief Strategy Officer, David Thomason said, “Kanye West’s ‘Jesus Walks’ was the soundtrack to our strategy session. We were all feeling so personally inspired and revolutionary that it almost seemed trivial to be talking about a brand campaign. But this is how customers must choose brands today. We’ve been building to this campaign for years. Mercury are being provocative because the cause is not a marketing bolt-on, like so many brands have done. The environment’s central to everything they do, and now they need New Zealanders to join in making it happen.”
Chief Marketing Officer Julia Jack says moving away from petrol and diesel cars is one of the most impactful changes we can all make to reduce our individual and collective impact on the environment.
“It’s time to say goodbye to our old modes of transport because there’s a better alternative. The electricity we generate and use in New Zealand is over 80% renewable and that’s growing. It’s a massive natural advantage we have over many parts of the world. We don’t need to be importing and burning fossil fuels for transport when we have better, healthier and cheaper options,” Julia says.
The campaign is told through the lens of typical Kiwis who all have fond memories of their old vehicles but kiss them goodbye and then find freedom and happiness with new electric options that are right for them.
The campaign includes TVCs, Out of Home including billboards, adshels and street posters, digital banners and a social campaign asking New Zealander’s to take the pledge and “Kiss Oil Goodbye”. Mercury’s website and content has also been fully redesigned to support the campaign.
The television commercial was directed by Nathan Price and edited by 2020 Academy Award nominee Tom Eagles (nominated for his work on Jojo Rabbit).
The campaign is substantiated by several initiatives to enable Kiwis to try electric transport including extending the Drive EV-by-subscription service, and partnering with a global operator, JUMP, renowned for innovative e-bike and e-scooters.
“We know there’ll be people who can’t easily say goodbye to their internal combustion engine vehicles or don’t want to, and that’s okay. It isn’t about pointing any fingers; it is about opening the door a little wider to those who are ready to consider a change in habits, and to get a few more to that point of consideration.
Through the campaign we want to show that while change might seem difficult, once you’ve taken the first step, it can be wonderful,” concluded Julia.
