Dutch Energy Co. Lights It Up With Absurdity

Dad, stop eating the tablecloth

What’s the most absurd element of these fresh films from Dutch energy supplier Zonneplan? Choices include: the pitchman tooling around on a solar panel, shirtless dad curled up in a fetal position on the kitchen floor and sonny-boy rhythmically banging his head against the wall.

Why’s this family acting so self-consciously silly—like characters in a kooky commercial? Because they got a bad solar plan, and their provider charges fees when their panels feed excess energy back into the grid. D’uh!

“Energy ads often like to paint an overly optimistic and wholesome picture,” says Koen de Boer, a creative at Ace Amsterdam, which helped develop the campaign. “But that’s not how consumers actually feel. We aimed to do justice to their true emotions, with just a touch of drama, a glimmer of sweat and a barefoot guy on a hovering solar panel.”

“Think about hell and then a person walks in with a cup of tea,” adds Angelo Cerisara, who directed the spots via Hamlet. “That’s our presenter, riding a solar panel barefoot.”

During the shoot, when the actor “got on the hoverboard barefoot, the actor tapped his foot on the surface which made a nice, moist, flappy sound. That’s when we knew he should wear no shoes at all,” de Boer tells Muse.

The panel’s movement was remote controlled, “which made the performance of the presenter funnier, because he’s struggling a bit to stay upright. Zonneplan now has it at their office and they use it to transport coffee to their meeting rooms.”

As for the actor playing the father: “The guy was chosen because he had the perfect empty look. Someone that has been through a lot. He also just happened to have a lot of body hair.”

“The set design was made to reflect an outdated world,” says de Boer. “Mid-century furniture, the colors, a diet that is based on a lot of dairy. Some subtle Dutch elements like cows and windmills.”

The campaign breaks this week across TV, digital and social channels.