advertising

ABEC ads in Ohio

Listen Play a creepy coal ad, by ABEC Speaking of fossil shenanigans, check out the blitz of advertising coal front group ABEC is running in Ohio in advance of the presidential primary there. I’ve been trying to pick the creepiest one, but’s pretty tough. I think the two winners are the audio ad to your […]

When do green ads translate to green action?

The greening of the U.S. of A. still has a ways to go. We’re plundering Canada’s tar sands and mining the Midwest’s topsoil to keep our cars on the road. We lay waste to ton after ton of Chinese coal to fuel our cheap-stuff habit. And so on. But if our habits remain environmentally ruinous, […]

Norway bans generic green terms from auto advertising

This is funny and kind of awesome: No car can be “green,” “clean” or “environmentally friendly,” according to some of the world’s strictest advertising guidelines set to enter into force in Norway next month. “Cars cannot do anything good for the environment except less damage than others,” Bente Oeverli, a senior official at the office […]

AEI brings us the good news on climate

How about that fascinating ad in Gristmill today for the new video courtesy of the American Enterprise Institute! An Inconvenient Truth ... or Convenient Fiction? aims to present us with an alternative to the "climate extremism" that is "popular with Hollywood and other pessimistic enclaves" and seeks to assure us everything is A-OK. They're even doing screenings around the U.S. In, uh, three locations. Anyone else give this AEI spin project a spin yet?

[editor's note, by David Roberts] This seems like a good time to draw attention to Grist's advertising policy, to wit: we don't screen ads for political or ideological content. If we did that, every ad that did appear on our site would carry an implied endorsement, and we don't want to get into that briar patch. The main thing to note is: advertising is advertising, editorial is editorial, and never the twain shall mess with each other.

A cool new ad campaign from Victoria, Australia

This article, in which Al Gore lays out his basic position on nukes, contains nothing much new. He's said it all before in, among other places, our interview.

Thanks to Gristmill reader LA, however, for drawing my attention to this intriguing final bit:

Mr Gore ... yesterday met with [Victoria, Australia] Premier Steve Bracks and his deputy John Thwaites. He described Victoria as forward thinking on climate change and said he would take a number of local initiatives back to the United States.

He was particularly impressed with the Bracks Government's "black balloons" advertising campaign, which links household energy usage with the amount of carbon dioxide it releases into the air.

"I'm going to take that ad back and show it to some folks there, maybe put it on YouTube," he said.

Well, I don't know if Gore put it there, but the ad's on YouTube now. Here it is:

Cigarette company targets environmentalists

Although I'm no fan of the cigarette companies, I have to give credit where credit is due. They have often been on the cutting edge of advertising and marketing. Marlboro made it cool for men to smoke, Virginia Slims made it cool for women to smoke, and Camels made it cool for -- well, let's not go there.

Flipping through Newsweek the other day, I came across an ad for American Spirit. Since I'm a non-smoker, I didn't realize there was a cigarette company marketing itself as the "organic" cigarette manufacturer. As I was rolling my eyes at the advertisement, a silver lining emerged from the cloud of tobacco smoke.

New ad brings laundry to life

There's a wonderful new advertisement for an Italian washing machine that simulates deep sea life. A clever concept, brilliantly executed. If you've got 30 seconds to spare, check it out here.

Gore-backed group will spend big to convince Americans climate change is real

Al Gore wants you to understand climate change. Photo: © 2006 Paramount Classics.  Think you’ve been hearing a lot about global warming lately? If a new climate-focused group hatched by Al Gore has its way, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. After nine months of behind-the-scenes planning and wrangling, the Alliance for Climate Protection is now […]

Green advertising

The NYT reports that eco-themed advertising is growing ever-more-ubiquitous from big companies.

I know we're supposed to bitch and moan about greenwashing, but the way I see it, even if 50% of this is hype, a) 50% non-hype is better than nothing, and b) it speaks well to current cultural trends that companies feel the need to brag about their environmental consciousness. Environmentalism is once again coming out in the open as a mainstream value, after years of demonization and caricature.