Project: Orange Power Wellies

Position: PR Manager, Orange UK

Role: Creative Strategy, Media Relations

In 2010, I led a creative PR campaign to amplify our sponsorship of the renowned Glastonbury music festival, introducing the innovative ‘Orange Power Wellies’. This campaign was launched in the months leading up to the festival, unveiling a groundbreaking creation: Wellington boots equipped with cutting-edge semiconductor materials that could charge your mobile phone or iPod as you navigated the festival grounds. This initiative showcased how a telecom company could add tangible value to the festival experience.

So, how did it work? Inside the sole of the boots were special modules made of pairs of different semiconductor materials. These pairs generated electricity through a process called thermoelectricity, which occurs when there is a temperature difference between them. When your foot heated one side and the ground cooled the other, electricity was produced. This generated power was then used to charge your device.

This initiative garnered widespread acclaim, earning over 50 features across leading media sites such as Daily Mail Online, Fast Company, and Mashable.

Notably, we secured a coveted spot among Time Magazine’s prestigious Top 50 Inventions of the Year.