Client Corner: Philips Hue

Philips’ latest spot How Many Years... to Change a Light Bulb? created by iris Worldwide shows how lighting has finally moved on dramatically after remaining the same for many years. It’s now no longer a case of entering a room and flipping a switch, there’s a world of opportunities when it comes to lights that will add a splash of atmosphere to even the blandest of rooms.

Feeling inspired by the spot, shots decided to catch up with Filip-Jan Depauw, senior global director, Connected Lighting, Philips, to find out more about the magical world of lights as well as iris Worldwide ECD Chris Baylis to hear more about that beautiful spot.

Can you give us some background on connected lighting?

Depauw: Ever since the light bulb was invented in the 19^th century, electric lighting, as a concept, has remained much the same: push a button and a light is switched on or off. Connected lighting is the future and it’s changing the status quo by empowering people to improve and enrich their lives through light.

By connecting LED lighting to your smartphone, tablet or computer, you can create and control light to suit or enhance an occasion, a mood, or an activity. But it goes a step further than that because it also involves connecting your lighting to other aspects of your life and devices in your home, from your email to your door lock, to provide alerts. So, in that sense, connected lighting is totally altering the role of light in our homes from something simply to counteract darkness to an interactive tool that can enhance the way we live. That’s why we believe that by 2020, all households will have some form of connected lighting, as more people realise the benefits it can bring.

Tell us a bit about the Hue light bulb…

Depauw: Philips Hue is the ultimate expression of connected lighting, putting the power to create life-changing light experiences in the palm of your hand. If your home is the canvas, then Philips Hue is the palette and brushes which allow you to paint a room in up to 16 million colours and program numerous effects. A starter pack includes three bulbs and a bridge that plugs into your home Wi-Fi router. The system is then operated through an intuitive app downloaded onto your smart device - iOS or Android – which lets you customise your lights and operate them remotely, as well as choosing from a range of settings designed to enhance certain moods or activities. There are now more than 200 third party apps made specifically for Hue, so the possibilities of what you can achieve are always growing. For example, you can program Philips Hue to reproduce the colours of your favourite photograph or you can connect it to your email to provide light alerts when you receive an important message.

What’s wrong with the old fashioned dimmer switch?

Depauw: There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the old fashioned dimmer switch!  Just as there’s nothing wrong with analogue phones or vinyl records; but many people prefer the benefits and convenience of digital living, and thanks to Philips, that now extends to lighting too.

With Hue, we set out to reinvent how people interact with light and experience light. We wanted to bring limitless possibilities and flexibility to lighting in the home, making it fully digital, and demonstrate that you can do so much more with light than just switching it on, off or dimming it.

Why do you think Philips is leading the way with this kind of product?

Depauw: Philips has been the world’s leader in lighting for over 100 years and we’re proud of our heritage in innovation.  Our focus is on providing light centric experiences and delivering the best possible experience for users. Being lighting-centric is what we are best at – we are known for quality of light and applying light in ground-breaking new ways, both in the home, in cities and other environments such as offices, schools, hospitals and stores.

We were first to bring a connected lighting product (Hue) to the early mass market in 2012, and through Hue’s open platform we’re driving value creation in the category, through new applications and business models developed by partners who realise the potential connected light has to enhance people’s lives. 

What was the brief for iris with the first ad for the product?

Baylis: Hue is going to revolutionise lighting in our homes. It is much more than just a colour changing light bulb, it is a system that allows you to do things with lighting you couldn't have imagined – and will change your relationship with lighting forever. It really delivers rich and personal lighting experiences. The tech community already know this, but we needed get a more mainstream audience to realise it too. We needed a campaign which was relevant to the product category and would build awareness amongst Hue’s target market.

Tell us about the idea for the commercial for Philips

Baylis: Philips Hue is a lighting revolution. However, up until now awareness of connected lighting has been confined to early adopters and tech savvy consumers. Our job was to raise awareness within the mainstream; people who are into everyday technology and design.

We unlocked this idea when we realised how many things had changed in people’s homes and lives, even in just the last few years. You wouldn’t write a letter on a typewriter, so why would you still use a nineteenth century light bulb?

Our next challenge was; how do we make this story interesting? One room, locked off, just racing through time was the answer. Along with the main line, it told a story that would work globally for multiple languages and formats.

How did you research all the different eras for the spot?  

Baylis: We told the story through technology originally, the fashion and styling followed. We geeked out a bit on how phones had changed, how vacuums had changed, TVs and stereos. 

From a production point of view, it was a gift. Unit 9 bought the best stylists and props people to the table. Bizarrely, the biggest challenge was getting the contemporary view right because it’s so subjective.

Why did you choose to make such an attention grabbing ad for a light bulb? 

Baylis: Lighting is a really low interest product. We all know when the lighting is wrong, but rarely when it’s right. So if you are a going to shake people out of their inertia, you have to do something that will grab attention. Also, we wanted the ad to be shared widely, and we know the Internet likes brave and bold film techniques that inspire people to share. 

Are you (Baylis) a user of a connected lighting system?

Baylis: I’ve just installed Hue. My daughter loves it and can’t understand why all lights don’t change colour and can be operated by multiple devices. She’s right!

What occasion would you like to use connected lighting for?

Depauw: Personally, I love the versatility of connected lighting when I’m entertaining guests at home. I often use the apps On Switch or Goldee to help create the right ambience and bring wow factor to each room. My wife loves using Hue’s Light Recipes which let her transform the lighting in the kitchen at the swipe of a finger. If it’s a grey morning, she can find the optimum brightness and tone to energise, or she can select a light recipe to boost concentration when the kids need to do their homework. The great thing about Hue is that what you do with it is up to you.

Hue can also connect to the web and other connected products via IFTTT.com, allowing you to use light as an indicator too. It can warn you if it’s going to rain, tell you when you’ve reached your personal fitness goal or alert you when your sports team has just scored. Whatever your lifestyle, Hue makes it possible to personalise light to suit you like never before. 

Baylis: Connected lighting can connect to so many inputs, but wouldn’t it be great to connect Hue to our thoughts. If we could do that, I could be miles away from the one I loved and she, or he, could know that I was thinking about them without doing anything else. That would be cool.