The Energy of New York - Con Edison | Clapboard Ad Archive
Con Edison’s You Are the Energy of New York campaign, launched in the United States market in 2018 with creative by Havas, delivers a focused message on the power of individual action in the city’s clean energy transformation. Developed for the industrial category and leaning on film as its chosen channel, the campaign sets aside traditional hero narratives and celebrity-fronted stunts to put everyday New Yorkers at the centre of the story, framing personal responsibility as the engine of collective progress. Drawing on user-identifiable imagery—what Clapboard’s taxonomy classifies as FORMAT#10—Associated User Imagery—the film speaks directly to the audience in inclusive, actionable terms, effectively recasting consumers from passive energy recipients to co-architects of sustainability. The narrative’s core asserts that while Con Edison is advancing renewable infrastructure and clean supply, genuine change hinges on the engagement and empowerment of every city resident, thus integrating a real-world call to action through ConEd.com/EnergySavings for tangible participation. The visual language and tone are unmistakably urban and authentic, positioning the city’s energy ecosystem as a shared responsibility, and reinforcing the idea that every kilowatt saved is a joint effort between utility and individual. Strategically, the campaign’s avoidance of abstraction or heavy-handed environmental iconography, in favour of recognisable locals and direct language, grounds the sustainability agenda in personal agency—a crucial move for a utility provider seeking more meaningful alignment with consumer values in a hyper-diverse metropolitan context. Backed by Havas’s succinct creative execution and clear messaging, the film embodies a utility-sector proof point for shifting the energy conversation from infrastructure alone to people-powered impact, taking the abstract and making it actionable for the everyday New Yorker. The campaign earns 56/100 in Clapboard’s global creative archive. As utility brands reframe their relevance for increasingly active and climate-conscious audiences, this campaign signals the early stakes of mass personalisation as both a path to brand trust and a lever for systemic change.
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