The "Smart street" campaign filmed three families over three months, capturing their reaction to life with smart technology, via video diaries.
The films were developed by OgilvyOne. In one episode mum Gill uses her phone to control when her washing machine will start a laundry cycle. In another, she is amazed by a smart vacuum cleaner that plugs itself in to re-charge at the end of a cleaning session.
Charlie Wilson, the chairman and chief creative officer at OgilvyOne, said using genuine families meant that the videos capture the natural drama of family life.
He said: "When British Gas asked us to think about getting customers to really engage in Smart Technology we wanted to take a new and very different approach.
"What we have done here is real customer-led content – in bite size episodic chunks – think Gogglebox for energy – and we are thrilled at how the content is developing."
The Smart Street hub on British Gas’ website has been populated with more than 30 videos with new content being added each week until October.
Last year British Gas’ connected homes arm, Hive, revealed it was preparing a major marketing push within the smart homes market in the UK.
In October it launched a TV ad featuring the bard (above), a singing human instruction manual that explained, in rhyme, what a connected thermostat can do.
Google’s Nest and Samsung are also eyeing a potentially lucrative connected homes market, as a e last year identified that only 2% of UK consumers own a smart thermostat, but consideration is three times higher.
Margaret Jobling, the marketing director at British Gas, said: "At British Gas we believe that nobody is better placed to be able to identify the true value that a connected home can bring to real families.
"We see this campaign as a truly unique social experiment, showcasing what matters most to people when it comes to smart technology in the home."
.jpg)
.jpeg)
