Lightforce Solar makes solar “bloody obvious” in new campaign feat. Kevin Barrett and his sons
Lightforce Solar has launched a new national television campaign designed to reposition solar energy as a mainstream, obvious choice for Kiwi households.
Titled “The Future Is Obvious,” the campaign uses humour, cultural familiarity and understated confidence to normalise solar, shifting it away from technical explanations or ideology and into the realm of everyday Kiwi common sense.
At the heart of the TVC is Kevin Barrett, father of today’s rugby heroes, Beauden, Scott and Jordie Barrett, cast not as a celebrity, but as a man with a long track record of quietly seeing what’s coming. In the film, Kevin’s foresight isn’t framed as mystic or prophetic, but as practical, lived wisdom. His latest and most obvious prediction: the future of energy is the sun.
By centering the campaign on Kevin rather than his internationally famous sons, Lightforce Solar deliberately subverts expectations, elevating the understated family patriarch as the most credible voice in the room.
The campaign was created by strategist and creative David (DT) Thomason, working with creatives Paul Taylor and Corey Chalmers, following a brief from Lightforce Solar owner John Harman to accelerate growth for both the brand and the wider solar category.
“Solar had become accidentally positioned as a political or lifestyle statement,” says Thomason. “Facts and savings alone weren’t shifting behaviour. It was a cultural challenge, solar simply wasn’t ‘normal’ yet. The strategy was to make it feel inevitable. Kevin embodied that logic perfectly.”
The brand idea, “It’s bloody obvious,” informed both the creative tone and execution. Rather than leaning into education or tech credentials, the campaign draws from classic Kiwi advertising cues, humour, understatement and mass appeal, with a tone closer to beer or automotive advertising than the energy sector.
Midway through development, Harman made a bold call by signing the Barretts to the campaign. Rather than centering the creative on sporting stardom, the idea evolved to focus on their father – a quieter, more unexpected lead whose authority comes from experience, not fame.
“It turned what could have been a cliché into something much funnier and far more truthful,” says Thomason. “Kevin isn’t trying to convince anyone. He just knows.”
The campaign has rolled out in stages, with individual Barrett brothers appearing across outdoor and digital placements over recent months, delivering early uplift in business. The TVC marks the first time the full family story, and Kevin’s role within it, comes together on screen.
Directed by James Anderson, the production required careful coordination to capture all four Barretts together, with filming taking place during a tightly scheduled shoot window.
“It was one of those rare productions where everything landed exactly as planned, including the humour” says Lyle Hastings, Lightforce Solar Marketing Manager. He continues – “It’s the perfect overarching piece of content before we introduce the next phase of the campaign, expanding into environments that allow for deeper messaging.”
The finished TVC, complete with Lightforce Solar’s new audio branding, launched nationally on April 5th, representing the brand’s largest above-the-line investment to date.
“I haven’t felt this confident in a new campaign’s effectiveness since I first saw the Tina from Turners ads,” says Thomason. “Kevin is going to be hugely popular. It’s obvious.”
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