Mercury brightens up August via FCB and The Glue Society

Following a gloomy start to the year, a giant light therapy sculpture is ensuring the sun will shine in two iconic Kiwi towns for all of August – no matter the weather.

The Second Sun, created by FCB Aotearoa in collaboration with The Glue Society for Mercury, is illuminated by over 8,000 bulbs that emit a light designed to lift moods during the darker winter months.

At 18-metres-wide and eight metres tall, the enormous sun sculpture is thought to be the largest installation of its kind.

With Mercury research revealing that three in four New Zealanders (79 percent) believe that they have experienced the winter blues this year, and that almost one in three (30 percent) feel the weather has impacted their mood ‘most days’ over the past three months – Mercury hopes the installation will bring a bit more wonderful back into Kiwi days. 

Light therapy lamps are a commonly used alternative treatment for supporting feelings of low mood and reduced energy in winter. In regions with limited winter sun, research has shown that daily exposure to 30 minutes of sun-mimicking bright light, particularly in the morning – can have a positive impact on a person’s mood.

Sarah Cowan, Head of Brand and Marketing at Mercury says the team wanted to create a way of bringing people together and the platform ‘Energy Made Wonderful’ to life.

“We hope the Second Sun injects positive energy into the community – a little light relief.”

Leisa Wall, CCO at FCB Aotearoa, says the work is a true embodiment of Mercury’s platform.

“It’s fantastic that Mercury is demonstrating how energy can not only be essential in our lives but make something quite wonderful in a time when we desperately need it.”

Art and directing collective The Glue Society was commissioned to create the Second Sun installation. The sculpture was manufactured and installed by Auckland company Unique Creative under supervision of The Glue Society, Production Company Revolver. Artist and Project Director Pete Baker says that he wanted to create an artwork that invites people to be a part of the experience. 

Pete Baker, Artist and Project Director at The Glue Society says: “What could be more wonderful than an enormous Second Sun that travels around New Zealand during the cold, dark winter months to bring light, raise a smile and lift the mood of the people that encounter it? There have been countless interpretations of the sun throughout history but we wanted to create a new version that’s an enormous, impossible-to-miss Kiwi sculpture  that isn’t just wonderful to look at but makes you feel wonderful too.” 

The Second Sun landed on Mount Maunganui Beach on Friday 4th of August through to Sunday 6th of August and Dunedin’s Octagon – a city that’s cold winter days welcomed some August sunshine on Friday 11th of August through to Sunday 13th. 

The Second Sun is the latest in a series of light installations and festivals Mercury has supported so far this winter, including The Takapuna Winter Lights Festival and The Taupo Winter Festival. 

TOPLINE CREDITS
Client: Mercury

Agency: FCB Aotearoa

PR: Artemis Communications 

Production Company: Revolver

Art & Directing Collective: The Glue Society

Director & Artist: Pete Baker

Managing Director / Co-Owner: Michael Ritchie

Executive Producer / Partner: Pip Smart

Executive Producer: Jasmin Helliar

Producer: Anna Stuart

Director of Photography: Rob Marsh

Illustrator: Andrea Davies

Model Maker: Unique Creative

FULL CREATIVE CREDITS 

Creative Agency: FCB 

Chief Creative Officer: Leisa Wall

Chief Creative Officer: Peter Vegas

Senior Copywriter: Alan Jones

Senior Art Director: Angelo An

Head of Content: Amanda Langkilde

Content Director: Michael Braid

Managing Director: Laura Goldie 

Head of Client Partnership: Emily Jagger

Chief Strategy Officer: Matt Kingston

Strategy Director: Grant Henderson

Social Strategy Director: Hamish Russell

Client: Mercury   

Head of Brand and Marketing: Sarah Cowan    

Marketing Manager Brand & Engagement: Michaela Chilton

Partnerships & Activations Manager: Anna Wishart

Brand & Campaign Manager: Stephanie Suddaby

Production Company: Revolver

Art & Directing Collective: The Glue Society

Director & Artist: Pete Baker

Managing Director / Co-Owner: Michael Ritchie

Executive Producer / Partner: Pip Smart

Executive Producer: Jasmin Helliar            

Producer: Anna Stuart

Director of Photography: Rob Marsh

Illustrator: Andrea Davies

Model Maker: Unique Creative

Post Production: The Glue Society Studios                                               

Offline editor: Phil Horn

Sound: Liquid 

Artemis Communications – PR 

CEO: Isobel Kerr-Newell

PR Director: Beccy Churchill

PR Senior Account Manager: Hannah Pearce

Media photography: Brett Phibbs

Activation: Spur

Account Director: Harriet Boyce

Account Executive: Casey Mew

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