FRIDAY FUNNY: The Green Economy Gets Animated

Posted by Heidi Schwartz
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First there was Gumby and Pokey. Then there was Wallace and Gromit. Now say hello to Gus and Marie!

SPIE Group, an independent European energy and communications services firm, is using these modeling clay animated figures, Gus and Marie, in a series of videos that explains the impact of a green economy. Filmed in the style of an educational television program, “Let’s Go To The Future” aims to use a lighthearted approach in order to make people more aware of the important themes connected with this issue.

Just like their claymation predecessors, Gus and Marie are ordinary and committed heroes in this adventure. The two characters use plain terminology to explain the stakes of an economy that respects the environment and its natural resources; they also present some of the solutions that have been proposed by SPIE—or even put in place—to respond to this challenge. Marie, a field journalist, leaves to investigate and asks questions, while Gus, with his laboratory transformed into a television studio, brings additional information about solutions to be implemented.

“The use of modeling clay allows us to highlight very complex issues that are at the heart of today’s society,” said Pascal Omnès, SPIE Group Communication Manager. “In the first season, these characters will illustrate green economy themes; later on, they will target other subjects, such as safety in the workplace, and the role disabled people play.” Omnès adds, “A special edition will even include an electronic greetings card to welcome in 2014!”

The first episode, “Stakes of Sustainable Mobility,” explains the context and challenges of sustainable cities, ways to develop sustainable mobility (urban planning, change in behaviors, the development of soft transport, etc.), as well as the impact of each means of transportation. The last part zooms in to highlight electric vehicles. The four-minute video is available here: