Christmas Day is a special day for many families around the world, yet as many sit down to tuck into festive meals with loved ones, others like the  Bord Gáis’ Christmas Day Service Engineers sign up to work the day to make sure it goes smoothly for all. 

In its emotive festive campaign, entitled On Call, Bord Gáis Energy aims to capture the real spirit of Christmas taking inspiration from its Energy’s Service Engineers; everyday people who sign up to work on Christmas Day, even if it means having to spend the day away from family.

“Our inspiration for this campaign came from the service engineers who give up their Christmases so that we can enjoy ours. We thought it fitting to tell a warm Christmas tale around these unsung heroes” said Karl Waters, Creative Partner at Folk.

The TV ad campaign spotlights the real people behind Bord Gáis and the level of care and commitment they bring to their jobs, every day of the year. The film follows the working day of an engineer that has signed up to work on Christmas day. After speaking with his own mother on the phone he attends a job at a family home where a young girl passes him his tools as he works. The engineer then has a brief break where he eats his Christmas day lunch of a ready meal whilst talking to his own family on video chat. Then it’s back to work and to what he believes to be his next job. However, upon arrival, the engineer is invited to take a seat at a family table, thanked for his hard work and treated to a Christmas meal in a heartwarming final scene. 

The creative has been developed by Team Nucleus, a bespoke team for Bord Gáis Energy, comprising Folk Wunderman Thompson and Mindshare Ireland who offer a fully integrated solution to Bord Gáis Energy under the mantle of ‘Team Nucleus’. The campaign is an extension of Bord Gáis Energy’s new brand positioning which aims to imagine better ways for customers to live, work and enjoy their free time. Putting the customer firmly at the heart of its messaging,  the brand aims to help customers live more sustainably by providing smart energy-saving plans and innovative products, solutions and services. 

“There are heroes in our organisation who work tirelessly and give their own energy in order to help our customers' lives run smoothly.” explained Dermot Mulligan, Head of Marketing, Bord Gáis Energy, “Christmas is a time when this commitment is even more important, and we really wanted to celebrate the way our Service Engineers go above and beyond to deliver our commitment. We are always ‘imagining a better way’ to deliver a high level of service to our customers and this is an example of that.”