Who: Enbridge, with Leo Burnett Toronto for strategy and creative; Circle Productions for production (Chris Balmond directing); Outsider Editorial for editing, Post Office for FX, and Vapor Music for sound.
What: “Tomorrow is On,” a new brand campaign for the energy company, showing how it is working towards creating a cleaner energy future. It is the brand’s first major campaign in several years.
When & Where: The fully integrated campaign is in market now in select markets in both Canada and the U.S., running across TV, supported by digital, print and radio.
Why: Leo Burnett’s co-chief creative officer Steve Persico calls this the “beginning of the marketing story” around Enbridge’s cleaner energy efforts. The company began investing in renewable energy more than 20 years ago, and is now showcasing its efforts to bring about a sustainable energy future through emerging technologies like wind, hydrogen and carbon capture.
Enbridge has committed to investing $4 billion in renewables and lower-carbon solutions through 2025, and says it is making additional investments to modernize its conventional infrastructure to increase efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It has also pledged that it will not invest in any new projects or growth opportunities that don’t align with its goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.
“The work we do at Enbridge is all about bridging to a sustainable energy future,” said Gina Sutherland, senior advisor, corporate communications and media relations with Enbridge. “Our goal was to bring that story to life, and share our commitment to putting in the work to move to a cleaner energy future.”
How: The one-minute and 20-second anchor spot opens on a rooster, long regarded as the symbol of a new day, standing on a fence post ready to greet the morning. The rooster represents Enbridge, demonstrating how the company powers communities, and its commitment to investing in clean technologies.
As a cover of the Stevie Wonder song “Higher Ground” begins playing, the rooster struts to a nearby bus-stop and rides a bus into town, where he strolls past businesses and households preparing for the day ahead. As he walks past, lights come on in windows and business signs flicker to life.
He then makes his way past solar panels and to the top of a wind turbine, before doing what other roosters can’t and taking flight, settling in an open space outside the town to cock-a-doodle-day the coming day.
“The rooster’s journey is an ambitious one, and like us, he’s taking on tomorrow with everything he’s got,” said Mike Fernandez, senior vice-president, public affairs, communications and sustainability, and chief communications officer.
“The mandate from Enbridge was ‘Let’s not show people in hard-hats building the future,’ and that kind of opened it up for us to tell a story that had a bit more life and character to it and was a bit more endearing,” said Persico. “In this case, the rooster is launching the future for Enbridge.”
While the rooster is the hero in the television ads, the sunrise motif is being used throughout other communications as a way of symbolizing how Enbridge is ushering in the transition to a new day of energy.
About that song: Leo Burnett considered many tracks, but ultimately settled on “Higher Ground” because the lyrics fit with the creative concept, and it had the right tempo and “positive momentum,” said Persico. It’s also a song that hasn’t been used much in advertising, he added. “It worked well with the edit,
And we quote: “There’s a spirit that the rooster brings that is exactly what our message means. Yes, like Enbridge, he’s always ready to take on every day. But this rooster, when he wakes up and looks to tomorrow, he isn’t just meeting it; it’s on,” said Persico. “And while the visuals and messaging all tell that story, combined with the determination of Stevie Wonder’s Higher Ground, it’s all about reaching higher, and always getting better.”
