Nissan ‘#ElectrifyTheWorld’ / DigitasLBi Paris

Noise pollution is something we city dwellers have learned to block out. We expect to hear a barrage of engine noises, honks and backfires on our commute. While we accept this noise during our working day, we love escaping to the countryside or a calming yoga class to get away from all the racket. But what if those places were also filled with noise? Would we be okay with that? Nissan’s latest Electrify the World campaign asks us to think about what we are willing to accept as ‘normal’ when it comes to noise pollution.

Nissan has launched three 30-second adverts in order to highlight the negative impact of noise pollution. ‘See What Happens When…’ shows speakers brought into naturally silent and relaxing places, such as a yoga class, a woodsy campsite and a backyard picnic. The speakers blast the sounds of traffic-induced noise pollution from cities such as Madrid at 8:00pm, Berlin at 8:30am and Paris at 7:51am. Each ad ends with the line, ‘You wouldn’t want noise pollution here, so why accept it anywhere else?’.

Campaigns focusing on pollution have become more and more frequent over the last few years. Last year Elizabeth Arden promoted its Prevage City Smart Hydrating Shield SPF50 product using innovative pollution-activated digital escalator panels in tube stations to display real time pollution data. The Body Shop also got in on the pollution theme earlier this year with a series of OOH ads designed to remove pollutants from the air. The posters were active at bus stops in High Holborn, Tottenham Court Road and New Oxford Street. Talking about pollution is no longer just for hippies and activists, it has rightly become a widespread public concern.

And now we finally have a campaign speaking out about pollution created by an advertiser who has historically helped to exacerbate the issue. Nissan’s efforts go beyond its social films, it has also opened the ‘World’s First’ Pay with Energy Café in Paris where visitors pay for drinks by peddling a WeWatt stationary bike. The initiative aims to show consumers how much energy goes into making even the simplest of drinks.

The car marque is hoping Electrify the World will draw more attention to the issues caused by traditional combustion motors in order to promote a future free from traffic noise. We are already on the cusp of this quieter future with the recent announcement of legislation banning all new diesel and petrol cars from 2040. The campaign comes at an interesting time for car manufacturers, and shows the brand is committed to future-proofing its car line-up. Nissan’s range of 100% electric vehicles already includes the Leaf, E-NV200 and Combi.

The campaign was designed by DigitasLBi Paris and is currently running on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in England, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and Spain.