In 2017 Natural Gas was facing competition from more contemporary energy sources including electric and solar. With low awareness and engagement around gas we needed to turn an invisible utility into something Australians care about. The main advantage that Natural Gas has over all other sources of energy is instant control. The brief was to show that instant control makes Natural Gas the instantly better choice when it comes to home heating, cooking and hot water.

These cinema ads tell the story of an average suburban family who just happens to own a pet dragon. They use their pet, named Scorchy, to heat their home, to cook their food and to provide them with hot water. As you’d imagine, living with a large fire-breathing reptile has its drawbacks and the family eventually switches to a much more practical, more controllable source of heat – natural gas. Shot in a mockumentary style we use flashbacks to show that life with natural gas is instantly better. There are no more mailmen being set on fire, no more spot-fires in the lounge room, and no more melted rubber duckies. The 30 second film supports the 60 second teaser with product benefits and branding.

With a pre-winter launch we hit TV and cinemas simultaneously. A 60 second unbranded teaser film ran in cinema, supported by our 30 second brand execution. 30 and 15 second spots aired on TV targeting new connections with tailored executions for cooking, hot water and heating. An OOH campaign dominated the major Sydney railway station with a mix of static posters, animated cinemagraphs and floor decals. Bus wraps and bus sides were everywhere when the campaign hit the streets in the cold winter months. A mix of retail radio, letterbox drops in new connection suburbs, and animated OOH in key home-maker centres saw us use Scorchy to drive both enquiries and cash back offers. At a corporate level, Scorchy became integral to brand identity, featuring everywhere from the launch event, to email signatures, water bottles, fun-run singlets, van signage and more. Of course Scorchy ventured online with eye-catching display banners,