Zombies, romping parents join climate drive

The teenager comes home to find her parents locked in a passionate pose in the living room. They freeze in embarrassment and she flicks off the light switch and retreats.

The message: If every household reduces energy consumption by five percent it will save the output of one of the country's large coal-fired power stations.

Commissioned by the Environment Ministry, the "Together it's climate protection" campaign includes three 30-second videos aimed at punching the right buttons in young minds in matters of energy conservation.

Another clip aims to dissuade people from leaving windows tipped open for long periods in the winter to air rooms, recommending short spells of wide-open airing, which prevents constant heat loss.

A woman is playing pan pipes in her living room and shuts her window in annoyance at noise from the garden. Engrossed in her rehearsal, she does not notice that the disturbance is actually her husband being attacked and devoured by zombies.

There's no ambivalence in the clips, which were posted on November 11 and are naturally not to everyone's liking. "A disgrace for a German ministry," one viewer commented beneath the lights-off clip.

Some took it for a prank played on the ministry, while one commentator adds, "Who says German authorities have no sense of humour?"

"Cool campaign that shows that climate protection doesn't have to be a dry topic," concludes another.

If homes reduce their heating in winter by one degree, this will reduce carbon dioxideCO2 emissions by 3.5 million tons. And a lid on your cooking pot will reduce energy consumption of an electric stove by up to 30 percent.