Meridian Energy introduces Kiwis to ‘Nature’ in new brand platform via The Monkeys Aotearoa
New Zealand’s largest energy generator Meridian Energy has unveiled a new long-term brand platform created by The Monkeys Aotearoa, part of Accenture Interactive, to establish its leadership position in renewable energy, investment into decarbonisation and its long-standing commitment to important initiatives such as the DOC Kākāpō Recovery Programme.
The platform enlists the help of Nature, a character who represents the natural world. Arriving on planet earth to inspire environmentally conscious behaviour, she uses her super-human powers to reward or discipline New Zealanders based on their actions.
Set to run nationally, the campaign film is directed by Jamie Lawrence and will be supported by OOH, digital, social, a Newshub Weather sponsorship and a retail campaign featuring Nature.
Says Damon Stapleton, chief creative officer, The Monkeys Aotearoa: “Doing the right thing for our planet has never been more important, but right now it feels like we all need a bit of light-hearted humour rather than a lecture. So we didn’t want to take ourselves too seriously with this campaign. It’s just a fun way to encourage us all (including Meridian), to do our bit for the planet.”
Says Michael Healy, chief marketing officer, Meridian Energy: “I’ve been in so many meetings where people proclaim, ‘we want to be a doing brand, not a saying brand’, then they continue to say instead of do anything.
“Over the past few years, Meridian has been planting thousands of trees to offset our carbon footprint and we’ve created Certified Renewable Energy that not only reduces reported emissions for our customers but is now on track to deliver over $2.5m of support for community and business decarbonisation.
“We’re building a public charging network to make EVs more realistic for more Kiwis, working with large emission customers to convert their process heat to electricity instead of coal, we are partnering with Ngāi Tahu and the Department of Conservation to support Kākāpō recovery, and we’re building new windfarms.
“It’s fair to say we are a brand doing more doing than saying and now we’re finally ready to tell more of these stories. Just like in this campaign, Nature is going to insist we all do more, and we are working hard to play our part.”
To ensure the film production itself was environmentally friendly, Meridian and The Monkeys engaged an organisation called GreenLit to advise and to calculate the carbon footprint of the production which will be fully offset.
Client: Meridian Energy
Chief Marketing Officer: Michael Healy
Meridian Marketing Lead: Rhys Musson
Advertising and Media Manager: Jordan Fahey
Brand Manager: Laura Page
Chief Creative Officer: Damon Stapleton
Creative Director/Creative: James Conner
Creative Director/Creative :Christie Cooper
Head of Integrated Production: Rosie Grayson
Head of Planning: Tom Sykes
Senior Strategist: Brona Kilkelly
Strategic Planner: Haley Hetherington
Business Manager: Harrison Stone
Creatives: Jonathan Rands & Jon Burden
Integrated Art Director: Hannah Bartch
Integrated Copywriter: Briar Wood
Integrated Producer: Callum Crabb
Designer: Lucinda Fortescue-Hansen
Production Company: Eight
Director: Jamie Lawrence
Managing Director: Katie Millington
Executive Producer: Claire Kelly
DOP: Gin Loane
Art Department: Neville Stevenson
Costume: Barbara Darragh
Editor: Luke Haigh
Online: Toybox
Colourist: Dave Gibson
Animation Director: Andrew Newland
Animation: Suraj Nayak
Animation: Markus Kristiansen
Animation: Jake Tuck
Lead VFX Artist: Leoni Willis
VFX Artist: Andrew Stewart
Post Producer: Al McKay
Music Licensing: Jonathan Mihaljevich Franklin Road
Sound Design: Craig Matuschka Liquid Studios
Photography: Goode+Williams
Producer: Pam Goode
Photographer: Chris Williams
Retoucher: Cameron Jones
Casting: Humankind
Media Agency: MBM
Group Business Director: Georgia McNaught
Director, Social Media: Brianna Regester
Business Manager: Loren Smith
Junior Planner/Buyer: Izzy Antoniadis
52 Comments
…make it stop. It’s a ham sandwich.
Worst ads I have to listen to
Screaming song makes my hair stand on end
Ew. Looks like it was shot on an iphone.
Nasty and cheap looking and could have been great.
Falls short. Fail.
Excellent. Its hard to give a comprehensive review in 5 incomplete sentences without sounding bitter, but you nailed it.
Who is that magnificent woman? What an attitude. What a star.
Love it – my fav ad on tv at the moment. The actress is magnificent!
Natchuurr – too lovely!
Great casting, great acting, nice craft.
Finally an entertaining ad for an actual client.
Finally a green message that’s not all worthy.
Kiwi humour nailed. Funniest ad this year.
I mean it’s just a bad version of ‘The Wind’ guy from 15 years ago. So they’ve had plenty of time to improve upon it.
Solid start from the Primates, a nice kiwi ad.
The ‘gag’ where she pushes the boy racer car backwards is just not funny.
I dunno dude, I lol’d
Yeah, it is! Oh that it happened to all boy racers!
If this is the first ad the agency has come out with then they’re really on to something. Good job team!
I keep reading it as “You be good to mama, she’ll be good to you” from the movie Chigago lol
Didn’t Meridian Energy sell out to Shell or was that only in Australia?
The comedic beats fall flat and miss by a mile. Study American humor, or good Kiwi humour. This is kinda cringey and hard to watch.
Nice big idea.
are worried
Agree, feels like everyone thought the premise was funny enough to not have to bother writing a funny script.
This one’s a grower. It’s one of those ads that people will enjoy watching more and more over time, waiting for their favourite bits. It dosen’t deserve the snarkiness. Hopefully the fun and sass translates to action.
Great character, lots of places you can take her. One of those ads, casting was almost everything
still better than most aussie ads, let’s be honest wake up oz
Crushing it.
Just the making of that costumes materials was as unfriendly to the environment as anything else. Sadly one of the former comments on this comments section is pretty much on the money. Well not fully as it has been politically twisted also.
But yes don’t believe all you read or hear.
When was nature ever kind to anyone? It’s cruel as well as beautiful and it will not temper itself for humans no matter what we do that’s fact.
Yes let’s stop using oil that’s fine I have nothing against that.
But why not use facts rather than a political expose to Twitter about? And if it’s an expose how sad it is to pick at the bottom of it.
Revealing really.
5.8 earthquake payback for green nature add.
blowing guy into fountain do not do . TV add such covert crap.
Looks cheap as – couldn’t you do it properly?
More woke anti white male media.
Becoming tiresom
Racist much?
More anti-White woke bullshit. Tiresome, yes, but the point to grasp is that this is the thin end of the wedge. It’s all part of an agenda to elevate Maori over the Europoean majority in the push for co-governance. Blame John Key’s “conservative” government who signed the United Nations Declaration for the Rights of the Indigenous People in 2011 which was shrouded in secrecy and Pita Sharples was flown to New York in the dead of night. to sign off the deal. When questioned, Key said that the document had no teeth and was just symbolic but this was a lie and we are now witnessing the implementation of this declaration whereby Maoris now own all of NZ. Most New Zealanders are in for a rude shock and will only wake from their apathy when the Maoris come knocking on their door saying that they want their land.
Racist much?
Brilliant. At last a great advert. Well filmed and funny. Ignore negative comments. No humour in life
This is one of my favourite ads right now. Love the humour, love Nature – she’s awesome!! And the little girl on her bike. Enjoy watching it every time.
My kind of gal,spunky and smart!🙂
It’s a brilliant ad and am speaking as a non-industry outsider – I only came here via Google to try and find out who’s the stunning and comedic actor (is it Bella Kalolo?).
PS I’d be worried for an agency if some of the few negative comments here came from professional industry people as they sound really out of touch with Kiwi communities (tip: have a look online to see what the audiences it’s aimed at think). Though bad competitive spirit is one thing. It’s redeemable, unlike a couple of comments whose writers appear to be thoroughly triggered and not in a healthy way.
Meridian’s “Mother Nature” is the very best advert I’ve ever seen on New Zealand TV. What absolute GENIUS this commercial is – in every way!!!!
I have been a creative director for some of the biggest agencies in the world and have created TVCs for over 30 years… when this advert aired I was WOW! this is good, even to my standards… great work guys! Nice to see some great advertising on our hun drum TV.
Do not notice the negative comments they are all bland just how their lives are… like to see some more of your work soon. PS: I have sent your ad to all the top creative’s and copywriters I know around the world.
This ad caught my attention.
Would’ve loved to be a fly on the wall at the casting meeting where all “villains” are white males and all hero’s are not.
Not sure where the humour is in this.
Unless follow up ad is Na-chur bouncing all the white males that are running Meridian or the coal and the rest of the non renewable electricity that meridian supplies to its customers.
Who is the actress that plays Mother Nature. She makes the ad
Awsome AD.
Awesome Nature, she’s magnificent!
A totally cringeworthy ad with racist undertones . Incredibly woke virtue signalling from an energy company with a very checkered background. Thanks for ruining an iconic song.
Love this ad. Who is that actress??? We love her ‘tude. Well done Kiwis!!!
Sickening ad … switch it off every time it appears … in your face .. loud … fat fan leaf waving piece of woke scuts … had no idea of what it’s supposed to represent and had to google it … call me ignorant …
I think the ad could have been so good showing something beautiful from New Zealand nature … that’s ”
green “… perhaps the Kakapo itself !!
Fabulous advt. on all levels and so timely, I mean look what is happening re the huge weather events that have hit Aotearoa. Love the diversity, the last scene of the child on the bike and Mother Nature striding back into the future. Come on all you negative people, drop your guard and sink into the message, the imagery, the music, the art, the skill, the larger than life star of the show. Does she rock or what!!! I would like to know who wrote this, there is a lot of humour in here, very clever, tino pai tou mahi rangatira, kia kaha, kia uu!!
Horrid ad. It’s a mockery of women to use this thing as a representation of “Mother Nature.”
Perfect mix of humour, green, cultural and gender balance.
Apple ripped off this idea. But yours the best.
complete opposite of sexy. so how can that be mother nature. not fit enough to carry. not fit enough to be a role model of health. The truth.