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Grey Areas and Green Ideas
Adland’s spin on ethics and environmentBy Jack Woodcock (jackolas) There’s an urban myth that Coca Cola were the first to dress Santa in red. The reality is that in 1931, the year he was first shown swigging a coke, Santa’s winter wardrobe experiment was over.
The reason Coke’s winter ads have been so effective is simple; people like Christmas. The fact that Coca Cola is a carbonated soft drink, a product that in reality has very little to do with Christmas doesn’t really matter. When Santa cracks open the coke we all know that ‘holidays are coming’. Of course Coke isn’t the only company to create tenuous links between themselves and the season. Although many of these can border on the ridiculous it’s tricky to argue that such campaigns cause any damage, except perhaps to our pockets. Over the last decade, however, a fresh trend has developed, one with far more ominous implications. Greenwash first began finding its way onto magazine pages, billboards and TV screens in the late 1980’s. Back then the ethical economy was in its infancy with awareness limited to single issues like animal testing, dolphin-friendly fishing and CFCs. Today it’s a multi billion pound market with ‘organic’, ‘fair trade’ and ‘carbon neutral’ labels just a few of those now competing for shoppers’ attentions. A prime example of Greenwashing in action is the launch of the new ‘Future Friendly’ logo. Billed as a partnership between top environmental organisations and leading consumer brands, on closer inspection you realise that all the brands involved are owned by Proctor and Gamble. Proctor and Gamble, the global corporation behind household brands like Aerial, Flash and Lenor has invested heavily in repositioning itself in line the ‘eco revolution’. Just as Coca Cola realised people like Christmas they’ve realised that people like the environment. However, it is very important to be wary of these sorts of claims. As Chris Arnold from the ethical marketing agency FEEL, points out, “Doing something less harmfully than you did it before isn’t the same as doing something good.” The growth of the Internet means we now have access to an ever-increasing wealth of information. It’s now the norm to carefully research products before we buy. As we are so bombarded by ads everyday it makes sense then to know about the techniques advertisers use before buying into message they are trying to sell. Next time you see an eco ad consider what is actually being said and see if it displays any of these classic signs of greenwash. Seductive imagesThe most common form of greenwash is the simple use of environmental and natural images. In the recent £6 million campaign for Nestlé, the Milkybar Kid rides through an idyllic woodland paradise. Whilst birdsong floats on the breeze animals scamper from the undergrowth to greet him and his chocolaty cargo. He trots off into the sunset to the departing message; ‘Milkybar, now with all natural ingredients’. Interestingly, the ingredients (which include sugar, whey powder and Soya lecithin) aren’t listed anywhere online. To find them out I had to go and buy one. It was very nice but I’m not convinced it was full of the ‘natural goodness’ the forest paradise was implying.
Youtube – milkybar, nature Impressive ProjectsOften a company will attempt to wow us with exciting eco projects. Through a number of campaigns BP have highlighted how they have become the biggest producer of solar energy in the world. It somehow becomes less impressive though when you discover that this was solely due to buying out Solarex in 1999, and though it only accounts for less that 1% of BP’s total business, it has been the main focus of a number of multinational advertising campaigns.
Youtube – beyond, petroleum Focussing on the human elementOne of the most subversive methods used to win us over is the humanisation of global corporations. The marketing heads at Shell know they can’t claim to have become environmentalists over night; people aren’t that stupid. Instead they’ve decided to create a new character for the brand; a ‘reformed sinner’. Jaap is an engineer troubled by the necessity to drill oil wells and his lack of time for his son Max. As if by magic the two problems are solved simultaneously. He visits Max and the straw in his milkshake inspires him! Jaap designs a new drill whilst Max scores a goal in his football match. Everybody’s happy. That’s the fiction. The reality is that in the wake of the Brent Spar fiasco and their underhand practices in Nigeria there are many who are less than happy with Shell’s ethical performance.
Youtube – shell, eureka It’s a common belief that companies tend not to brazenly tell lies. However, you only need to look at the Advertising Standards Agency’s website to see how wrong this is. There you can find a long list of complaints that have been upheld against companies making false environmental claims. Companies like Toyota, who misrepresented the efficiency of their Prius range, and Scottish and Southern Energy, who fibbed about their carbon offset programme. In September this year the ASA received 90 complaints about ethical and environmental claims compared to only 10 in the previous year. The fact that it takes only a handful of complaints to force them to spark further investigation really hands the initiative to ordinary consumers who simply want to know that what they are buying is the real McCoy. The more of these expensive campaigns that get cancelled before they’ve come to an end, then the more care companies will take in ensuring they don’t misrepresent the truth in their advertising. In a recent survey by MORI it was revealed that four in five Britons believe that companies pretend to be ethical just to sell more products. If you’re one of these people and see something that you don’t agree with then visit www.asa.gov.uk where you can register your complaint. They do take each complaint seriously so you really can make a difference.
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Contributor's Note
This article was published in Sustained Issue 6 in December 2007.
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http://jackolas.qondio.com/
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