Fondue fun

Everyone likes to save money on heating and cooling bills, but nobody likes to shiver in the winter or sweat in the summer.

But how to put consumers in a positive mindset about energy conservation in the home? An ad campaign running in Reno and Las Vegas tries to make energy conservation seem as much fun as fondue.

"We try to walk that line between meaningful information and fun presentation," says Jack Leone, corporate communications executive for Sierra Pacific Resources, the parent company of utility companies in northern Nevada and Las Vegas.

"It's kind of a dry subject, to be honest," he admits.

The campaign launched last summer via print and billboard in Las Vegas with the "Summer of '78" tagline, urged power customers to run air conditioners at a warm 78 degrees and save up to 25 percent on power bills.

The Reno campaign launched this winter,with the "Winter of 68" tagline.

It urges homeowners to keep their thermostats at a cool 68 degrees for savings.

Stylish skiers populate one ad, looking like they've just stepped off the slopes in an early James Bond movie.

Another ad, redolent of the 1960s dance show Hullabaloo, features afro-wigged go-go dancers in pink and orange mini-skirts.

"The intent is that you open the paper and think: this is out of place,"

says Leone."The ads reflect a 1968 era look and feel.

The message is not long.

It gets you through the clutter on the page."

The campaign strategy was led by Susan Calitri, marketing and advertising senior consultant for Nevada Power and Sierra Pacific Power.

The creative concept was developed by R & R Partners' Las Vegas office.

However, spikes in the cost of natural gas, further exacerbated by hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, prompted the power company to put the splashy campaign on hold.

Time out for a more serious turn of mind.

"Natural gas prices have skyrocketed over the past year and domestic supplies are dwindling in relation to demand," Leone explains.

"We pass those costs on; we don't make money on it.

Our customers don't always understand that it is a dollar-per-dollar pass through."

So, in anticipation of consumer complaints, the company this month ran a fullpage letter in newspapers that explains why home energy bills are suddenly so shocking.

"We felt some serious discourse was in order," says Leone."It's a

straight-from-theshoulder explanation."

The letter is signed by Walt Higgins, chairman and chief executive officer both of Sierra Pacific Resources and Nevada Power Company.

The Reno ad is also signed by Jeff Ceccarelli, president of Sierra Pacific Power Company, while the Las Vegas ad bears the signature of Pat Shalmy, president of Nevada Power Company.

However, Sierra Pacific isn't shedding its go-go boots yet.

The colorful 1960s-era campaign will resume next month to wrap up the winter heating season.

But does an ad advertising campaign with a crazy concept work?

"It's pretty hard to measure results," says Calitri."We did notice quite a big increase in hits on conservation pages of the company Web site, which is referenced in the ads.

And,we got a lot of public comment.

If a campaign is not working, there's a large silence."