If you've been out and about recently you may have seen this wistful orangutan staring into the middle distance against a backdrop of a Scottish cottage or something.
“I like the ad but I feel it’s missing a giant wistful orangutan” #imaginethemeeting
(Is the ape on holiday? Does it live there? Do apes visit cottages? Is this inside an ape daydream?)
Here is the same great ape contemplating its sadness while staring at a wind farm.
@jonmundy @psmith I like this version. "What says 'wind power?'" "I know - a looming orangutan."
Stranger still, the ape features against a backdrop of some kind of concert. Presumably one it didn't get tickets for.
Can someone explain this ad please? “Boss we need an image for the ticket offer outdoors” “Big ape?” “Genius.”
Some people like the unexplained apes.
@psmith @Lindapalermo I welcome the inexplicable apes.
Others fear the apes may take over.
I hope that @SSE advert with the ape in it is the thing that causes the rise of the planet of the apes.
Some people thought the whole thing might be a mistake.
@psmith first time I saw it, I thought it was half of another add that hadn't been covered up properly
Or a joke.
@McKuw When I first saw that on here I thought somebody had photoshopped the ape into the advert. For a laugh.
The ads are all over Ireland too and everyone there is just as perplexed.
What is the deal with these Airtricity ads? That orangutan looks like he biding his time until he murders us all.
The truth, however, is that it's part of an ad campaign from energy giant SSE centered around a TV advert in which a (CGI) orangutan walks around admiring electricity for some reason.
This is what the brand told us:
@psmith Hi, it's about looking at energy through fresh eyes and you can see our advert here: http://t.co/Opib4FcyI1. Thanks, Niki
But if you didn't see the telly ad, it just looks surreal.
Genuinely surreal: "We have frozen our energy prices. Here is a sad orangutan."
@psmith It's another example of using a core element from a TV spot that makes no sense out of context to make a crap poster...
Many are still confused.
@YourSSE I still can't see quite how the orangutang brings that to life but thanks for taking the time to engage Cc @psmith @NeilBennett
@david_osborn @YourSSE @psmith @NeilBennett I think someone at the ad agency has won a bet
@david_osborn @psmith Maybe the orangutan turned up & demanded to be in the ad - and who's gonna argue with an angry orangutan
Maybe SSE is right – what if the future of advertising is pensive gibbons or depressed gorillas? They could be used for a variety of brands.
@jonmundy @psmith frankly I think the ape should be in all ads for everything. Perfume, cars, that Lovehoney one that comes on after ten...
The campaign was thought up by Adam & Eve/DDB, the agency that's been working with SSE since August 2013
The brooding ape campaign has print, cinema, outdoor, online and print elements. Even if people don't know what the ape thing is all about, at least people are seeing it.