Move over biofuel. Oranges are the new poster child of green energy.

The proof: A shiny glittering new billboard in France completely powered by oranges.

Tropicana’s innovative new campaign has generated the sort of buzz that makes the stuff of any ad person's daily dreams. A billboard that harnesses the energy from oranges to create a giant multi-cell battery powerful enough to illuminate a neon sign that reads Energie Naturelle (Natural Energy) and the Tropicana logo.

And the success of the entire campaign is a direct result of commitment to advertising basics and a return to old school advertising concepts.

David Ogilvy once said, "It takes a big idea to attract the attention of consumers and get them to buy your product. Unless your advertising contains a big idea, it will pass like a ship in the night."

Tropicana's bases its latest campaign on one single idea: citrus provides energy; to machines as well as humans. If it’s good enough for a billboard, you can bet its good enough for you.

Granted, some may show skepticism whether this qualifies as a 'big idea' as Ogilvy envisioned big ideas to be. To be fair, this looks like its lifted straight from a schoolboy science experiment and adapted to suit a larger scale. Hardly the kind of stuff entertained at the confluence of 'contemporary creative circles'.

But what this ad does is reinforce the wisdom once expounded by the founder of the advertising agency that created this ad.

For it is William Bernbach (the B in DDB advertising agency) who said, "Advertising doesn't create a product advantage. It can only convey it." And this ad does a convincing job of conveying the advantages of oranges and Tropicana in a simple yet powerful manner.

It was also Bernbach who remarked that an idea can turn to dust or magic, depending on the talent that rubs against it. We advertising ladies and gentlemen know that ideas are nothing until they are properly executed. This is where DDB advertising company, in collaboration with the digital creative production company Unit9, worked to create marvels.

The entire project actually took over 3 months and includes boatloads of oranges, several spikes of copper and zinc and a whole lot of wiring. Not to mention the blood, sweat, anguish and expectations of DDB and Unit9 employees.

Johnny Hardstaff of Unit9 has also made a catchy 90-second video detailing the three months of work it took to put together this advertisement. You can watch it here.

In the end, they created something they can be really proud of, not only as advertising professionals but also as human beings. For the ad expounds not just the richness of a product but also of a unique product of Mother Nature. And they made the billboard while going completely green!

PS: Bill Bernbach is one of the greatest ad men to ever live. To know more about him and his advertising wisdom read this article I wrote paying tribute to the great man.