How FCB and The Glue Society Got the Sun to Rise Again
Sunkissed skin, freckles and sweat. Hanging clothes on the line, fishing and barbecues. Ice cold drinks and the memory of your parents telling you to ‘go out and get some sun’ after spending hours in your bedroom as a teenager.
The sun can be incredibly healing with its warmth and light. It provides long days that can be spent with friends, and often serves as a reminder that life goes on with its consistent rising and setting.
And when it's hidden behind clouds, its presence is sorely missed. Unfortunately, this has been a recent reality for New Zealand.
Over the past year, New Zealand has seen the lowest sunshine hours in 200 years, with some places missing out on experiencing the iconic summer and instead has been faced with a long, dark winter.
To combat all the doom and gloom, Mercy Energy, FCB and The Glue Society have placed a giant light therapy sculpture in the shape of the sun on the beaches of New Zealand, to lift the spirits of those most affected by the lack of sunlight.
LBB’s Casey Martin spoke with Alan Jones, copywriter and Angelo An, art director of FCB and Pete Baker, director, writer and partner of The Glue Society on achieving such a feat.
LBB> What was the response like for this project? How did you intend audiences to respond and what surprised you about the responses if anything?
Pete> We always put people at the heart of every public art installation. Most importantly, we know that people want to photograph and be photographed with each artwork The Glue Society creates. With that in mind, we wanted to create a Sun that’s designed to be as photographic as it is designed to look amazing for the people who experience it in the real world.
The best part of any project is seeing the reactions of the people as they discover it, interrupting their daily routine with a surprise that can genuinely affect their day - be it raising a smile or using the power of light to enhance their mood.
Alan & Angelo> It was fascinating going ‘undercover’ at the cafés and bars of Mount Maunganui and listening to the public’s reaction. Hearing an unfiltered ‘live’ response isn’t something we often get (and thankfully it was overwhelmingly positive). It was especially good to hear a few Dads making the joke “First sun this beach has seen all year.” That’s when we knew the idea had landed.
LBB> What were the challenges you faced, and what were the highlights?
Alan & Angelo> Mercury’s core promise is ‘Energy Made Wonderful.’ So it was really important, especially given the year New Zealand has had, that we deliver on that. We needed to show up in a way that wasn’t self-serving, but genuinely wonderful for these communities. Bringing some brightness, light, and good vibes to the darkest year on record felt like the right thing to do.
We’d always dreamed of creating some kind of populist pop-art sculpture but never had the right brief. Until now. So, after more than a decade of drooling over their work we finally got the chance to call up the masters at The Glue Society and show them a very rough mock-up of ‘The Second Sun.’ And that’s when the real challenge began…
Pete> The Sun is one of the most interpreted icons in history - from cave art to corporate logos, from flag iconography to emojis - the sun appears everywhere in our visual language. The challenge was to create a new interpretation of the Sun like no other - an enormous installation that not only looks impressive but also works as a light therapy lamp.
The Sun had to not only generate enough light that it was able to affect the environment and people who encountered it, but also be transported to various places around New Zealand.
We needed to ensure that it wasn’t so big that you can’t see people standing next to it in a photo, but big enough that it’s visually impressive and not swallowed up by a landscape.
The ‘eureka’ moment was realising that the best approach was to design the Sun as a semi-circle on the horizon, so that we didn’t need to literally suspend a globe from a crane, but could place it on a flat surface along a horizon line.
Slicing it in half gave us more surface area to illuminate, and allowed people to get up closer and feel the effect of the light. The idea of a semi-circle meant that we could more easily travel around on a trailer and take it to many more communities than if it was a more complex design. It still took 10 hours and a team of people to install though, so it wasn’t quite as simple as just loading it onto the back of a truck.
LBB> What did you learn during this project?
Pete> Simplicity takes many months and many people to achieve. Everything from the complex locations, availability of materials, transportation, sourcing and installing 8000 lights and the New Zealand weather affected the final result. The truth is with each new installation we start from scratch, drawing on our collective knowledge to find the best solution to whatever this particular installation requires. Working with the incredible team at Unique Creative in Auckland was key to the success of this particular build.
Alan & Angelo> What Pete said. It’s incredible how a “simple” one page idea can then affect 20+ people’s lives for six months straight. It turned out incredibly well, and we’d do it again in a heartbeat, but next time we build something this bespoke, we’ll know we’d better buckle up.
LBB> What was the most important thing you wanted to achieve with this project?
Pete> For this project, it was all about bringing light, raising a smile and lifting the mood of the people and places that encountered the Sun.
Alan & Angelo> We really wanted the community to fall in love with it. So it was super important to us that we improve their landscapes and surroundings, rather than pollute it (as advertising sometimes can!)
We think the fact that nearly half the population of The Mount came out to see it and thousands of photos taken by the public of ‘The Second Sun’ are testament to the fact we achieved this.
LBB> What do you do when you want to have a positive impact on someone’s mood or perhaps your own mood?
Pete> Get out into nature. Particularly after the last few years when we were stuck indoors and on devices. Nothing beats getting outside, which is why I love working on projects like the Second Sun that create new experiences for people to collectively share.
Alan & Angelo> Nothing makes us happier than getting stuck into interesting creative projects. Getting outdoors is also pretty neat. We were blessed that with this project we could do both.
