For years, Tropicana had been telling the world that “Brighter Mornings Lead to Brighter Days.” So on one cold Blue Monday in January, the idea was to prove it.

Working with environmental art collective, Greyworld, the concept was simple on paper - make the sun rise a little earlier and set a little later, to show how a touch more sunshine can genuinely lift your day.

The result was a man‑made sun in the middle of London, a seven‑metre‑wide sphere with a 200‑square‑metre surface made from a flame‑retardant nylon that allowed specific wavelengths of light to shine through. Suspended 20 metres above Trafalgar Square by a 200‑tonne crane, it housed a lighting system capable of generating four million lumens — the equivalent of 60,000 lightbulbs — and in theory bright enough to be seen from space. A custom cooling system kept everything stable and safe.

For one morning, Londoners got a brighter start, and Tropicana’s promise came to life in the most literal way possible. Over one million views in 48 hours, global Twitter trends and national coverage from The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Mirror and… The Sun (of course)!