• by Fern Siegel , May 1, 2023

Keeping cities clean is a challenge. So is finding ecological ways to do it.

That's why Freedom Solar Power created a 7-foot solar-powered electric industrial vacuum to pick up trash from urban streets.

Working with the CALLEN agency, the company launched an in-person activation of the Solar-Umba 4000 in Austin, Texas, on Earth Day. Content will also run on social media.

A larger campaign will kick off in June.

The vacuum, engineered to include 2,450.25 square inches of solar panels, is powered with pollution-free energy from the sun. The machine can drive 600 watts of trash-chomping cleaning power. Traveling at 12 mph, it can carry 110 pounds of trash, including water bottles, metal debris and roadkill.

“People may understand that it’s important to have conversations about the Earth, but that doesn’t mean they’re actually having them or thinking about how solar can play a role in their own lives," said David Hughes, managing director, CALLEN. This initiative “will not only stop people in their tracks, but get them thinking about what else solar power could do for them.”

The activation follows a February campaign that commiserated with consumers feeling the pain of Texas’ rocky electric grid,which derives 53% its energy from natural gas.

Given the high cost of electricity in the summer, the brand will continue to illustrate how empowering and economically efficient it is to choose solar.

“Freedom Solar believes everyone is at their most powerful when they’re tapped into the clean, limitless power of the sun,” said Sherren Harter, Freedom Solar Chief Marketing Officer.

CALLEN's client roster has included Maserati, Complex Networks, Coca-Cola and Oreo.