CHE Proximity supports the launch of AGL Essentials with ‘The Art of the Un-Sell’ campaign
![Flyers[3].jpg](https://asset-cdn.campaignbrief.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/04152018/Flyers5B35D.jpg)
At a time when Australian energy prices are a national topic and consumer mistrust of the category is high, AGL recently engaged CHE Proximity for the launch of its new product, ‘Essentials’.
Offering consumers choice amid what many find to be a sea of confusing deals and discounts in the industry the new Essentials product instead simply offers low rates, fixed for 12 months.
![Speakers[3].jpg](https://asset-cdn.campaignbrief.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/04150620/Speakers5B35D.jpg)
With production company Scoundrel, CHE Proximity collaborated with renowned Australian artist and director James Dive to create a campaign based around minimalist installations. Across three films, these installations depict the![Balloons[1].jpg](https://asset-cdn.campaignbrief.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/04150620/Balloons5B15D.jpg)
artful destruction of common annoyances and clichés of the retail world, from red sales balloons, to irritating retail voices and discount flyers. All subsequently reveal AGL’s bold, simple message: ‘No discounts. No tricks. Just low rates’. Just the start of an ongoing integrated campaign, these films are designed to be a force for disruption in a noisy and predictable category, eschewing voiceover and embracing provocative sound design.
Says Jamima White, head of marketing, AGL: “Many customers find discounts confusing. We were one of the first Australian energy retailers to offer consumers the choice and control of a guaranteed low rate product. This is just one of the new products and services we have launched to help give our customers a fairer, better deal.'”
Says Ant White, chief creative officer, CHE Proximity: “People just don’t believe the language of sales and discounts anymore. This campaign was all about the art of the unsell: customers are looking for transparency and don’t necessarily have time to decode hundreds of deals looking for the best offer. We’re proud to support AGL as they help customers trust this industry again.”
Client: AGL
Agency: CHE Proximity
Chief Creative Officer: Ant White
Group Creative Director: Glen Dickson
Creative Director: Chris Andrews
Creative Director: Joe Hill
Senior Art Director: Amy Weston
Senior Copywriter: Sophie Beard
Art Director: Matt Bladin
Copywriter: Lauren Eddy
Producer: Jen Livingston
Client Partner: Jamal Cassim
Senior Account Manager: Elizabeth Mitchinson
Director of Brand: James Needham
Production: Scoundrel
Director: James Dive
Editing: The Butchery
Sound Engineer: Matt Thompson
Senior Operations Manager: Pravina Kumar
28 Comments
like these a lot
These are great. Well done to those involved.
As ads, these are interesting pieces of work, kudos to the CHE team who created them – however for me this completely falls over because AGL are ‘essentially’ saying do not trust any of the rest of the advertising in the market, including their own.
If they as a business were moving entirely in this direction that would be great, but if i saw this as a consumer, it would not make me trust AGL more, it would actually make me think they had been scamming me even more than I thought they had.
If, as Jemima White says, many people find discounts confusing, then perhaps do the honest thing and stop intentionally making them that way to trick people into paying more than they need to for their energy.
And if, as Ant White says, AGL are helping customers trust the industry, then perhaps make this kind of energy plan your standard plan rather than a niche product that’s in market at the same time as your usual massive discount ad campaigns.
This is not the fault of the agency at all, but unfortunately the nature of the energy market itself and the inability of the large providers to move wholly away from smoke and mirrors discounts and squeezing money out of people.
Wasn’t AGL at one point making a claim to create environmentally conscious energy?
How much paper and ink were wasted just so you could say you didn’t need to waste paper and ink?
Nice execution, that plays to the right tension point. Ticking boxes CHEP.
What an angering waste of paper, helium and plastic. In the current climate, a little tasteless.
Love how the above positive comments exist when there are 0 views on the videos.
CHEP, your desperation to be accepted creatively is see-through. You need to do way better work than this for that to happen though
These will grab attention for all the right reasons.
There’s often a lag on YouTube’s view count.
I like em
The strategy of 0% discount was done by Momentum
But these are still cool
They’re ok
Well done Jamal. I reckon these are the best things you’ve ever done
I believe the term is ignoranus.
I like CHEP and their work. But, on this occasion, as much as I like the execution,
I think the strategy is dubious. An EDLP positioning can work if you’re constantly promoting your every day low prices.Unfortunately, that’s a bit hard when you don’t show [therefore demonstrate] your every day low prices. Kmart, Jetstar are two EDLP brands – but they deliver on their EDLP promise by constantly promoting the actual prices. And yes, even though they claim EDLP, they still do Sales to drive activity. [Even the home of EDLP Ikea needs to do that]. So, IMHO I don’t think the positioning is sustainable and give it 8 weeks before we start to see prices/offers.
I lOVE it when people who comment here try and sound intelligent and know what they are talking about. It’s soooo cute.
I know a couple of you just have your name on it because you have to, but what about the other 6? 6 people to make an ad that isn’t an ad?
In a landscape littered with direct to camera presenters or people sitting around talking about how much they’re saving on this and that, I’m delighted to see someone doing something that cuts through. Briefs like this are among the most difficult to execute and I think the folks at CHE have done well.
Ads dressed up as art, dressed as special strategy, dressed as special thinking, it’s a bit like the emperors new clothes. Behind all this is nothing that’s going to set the world on fire. Good amount of comments though.
Kunst ist Scheisse
A lot of awesome people on this. Keep it tight, Blads.
According the the Victorian Government price comparison website AGL Essentials is still 19.8% more expensive than the best deal in the market.
Really fresh idea, great execution.
Nice idea, but a bit of a rip-off of the Momentum Energy campaign (0% discount) which I felt was a nicer execution on the same insight.
Can you please change the comments header to show the IP address of the commenter?
I dare say in this case it would reveal about three.
…and I just received my AGL bill with the “Pay on Time Discount” prominently highlighted.
I actually quite like the paper version (the weirdness of the seagull sound effects really appealed).
But it can’t make up for:
(a) the massive waste of paper from a company that keeps blowing its own horn about not being a dick to the environment or
(b) the fact that this is an anti-discount ad from a company who offers discounts on every other product.
At least Momentum got rid of all their discounts, instead of just paying lip service to the whole thing.
childish gambino
Great work. Feels a lot fresher and bolder than the rest of the category.