"Peak Save"

16 October 2023

60s

Going for gold.

There was a period after the financial crash of 2008 when high street banks really struggled to find their advertising voice. Public anger with them was so visceral that they found it impossible to find the right tone, and they largely kept their heads down. Fifteen years later, a similar dilemma exists for energy companies as the UK struggles with household bills prompted by a combination of international crises and corporate greed.

The arrival in our inbox of a new British Gas commercial had us shaving our pencils to razor sharpness in anticipation of a shredding... and then we watched it.

As you will see for yourselves, the new work is charming, funny and – most importantly – pertinent to the difficulties faced by households up and down the country. It takes copywriting and film production of some skill to find the right tone for a moment as delicate as this, and yet somehow Matt Moreland, Chris Clarke, Adam McGowan and Dan O'Keeffe of The&Partnership, and Traktor have achieved it.

The gameness of sport stars Tom Daley, Ellie Simmonds and Katarina Johnson-Thompson helps a lot, and whichever member of the Traktor gang coaxed these performances from them deserves a gold medal of their own (though, obviously, they will have to share it with the other members of Traktor).

None of this praise exonerates British Gas from their part in the blatant profiteering of the last two years, but it is a masterclass when it comes to the provision of feel-good communication in the most challenging of circumstances.

UK

Power Utility Companies