Mobiliar Surprises Audiences at the Locarno Film Festival with "Blackout"
By staging a mock power outage in Piazza Grande, Mobiliar turns its ad into a live experience—and demonstrates what «Better Together» means in practice.
At the Locarno Film Festival, Mobiliar surprised its audience on the Piazza Grande with an unexpected twist: a staged power outage right in the middle of the sponsorship spot. What appeared to be a technical glitch was carefully staged—and made the venue itself part of the story. The campaign is part of Mobiliar’s 200th-anniversary celebrations and its cooperative motto, «Better Together.».
When the screen suddenly stays black
The sponsored spot begins like a classic Mobiliar commercial: A leopard takes advantage of a moment when its zookeeper isn’t looking and escapes from its enclosure. But just as the tension reaches its peak, the unexpected happens—the power goes out right in the middle of Piazza Grande. Not just in the movie, but on the square itself. The screen goes black, and the sound cuts out. For a moment, it seems as though the movie night is over before it has even begun.
Only after a few anxious seconds does the projector start up again. Instead of the commercial, however, the audience initially sees only the beam of light from the film projector and the shadows of two technicians. Before the audience’s eyes, the woman from Ticino and the man from German-speaking Switzerland each try on their own to fix the problem—and only by working together do they manage to restore the picture and sound. With the commercial, the festival’s trademark also returns to the screen: On its exploration, the leopard leaves behind damage reminiscent of that caused by a mischievous house cat—only on a slightly larger scale.
More Than Just a Movie Trailer—Mobiliar at the Locarno Film Festival
The presence at the Locarno Film Festival is not a traditional sponsorship. As a main partner, Mobiliar has been supporting Swiss filmmaking since 2017. With the «Rotonda by la Mobiliare,» it also creates a central hub where festivalgoers can meet, connect, and experience culture together. In the tag-on campaign, as well as in print and online initiatives, the leopard’s journey ultimately leads right there.
«For our 200th anniversary, we wanted to show that »Better Together« is more than just a slogan,» says Olivier Benoit of Mobiliar. “Because when things go wrong, that’s when you see just how valuable solidarity is. That’s exactly what we’ve been all about as a cooperative for 200 years.”
Susen Gehle and Andy Lusti from insighters explain the basic concept behind the idea: «For years, Mobiliar has been telling humorous stories about mishaps. The Locarno Film Festival tells great film stories. The idea was not only to showcase this in the sponsorship spot, but also to make the venue where it’s shown part of the story.»
Production Using Artificial Intelligence—Without Real Leopards
The idea and concept were developed by the creative collective insighters. Together with the film production company Stories, they developed the visual world and the film’s execution. Artificial intelligence was used for the visual production of the commercial and the accompanying initiatives. The interplay of creative concept, direction, editing, precise prompting, countless iterations, and a keen eye for detail is said to have made it possible to tell the story credibly—without having to use real wild animals during production.
Responsible at Mobiliar: Davide Pincin (Head of Marketing), Sandra Denier (Head of Marketing Communications), Angéline Willisch (Marketing Communications Manager), Olivier Benoit (Marketing Communications Manager). Created by: Insighters: Andy Lusti, Susen Gehle, Lukas Wietlisbach (Creative Direction, Concept/Copy, Art Direction). Production: Stories: Tobias Fueter (Director, Editing), Lukas Fröhlich (Director, Color Grading, Key Visual), Sebastian Klinger (VFX), Michèle Seligmann (Producer), Jingle Jungle / Federico Bettini (Audio, Sound Design).
