Top ten greenwash lines

With a forthcoming look at greenwash ads by the ASA, I thought I’d give a little advice to clients and copywriters about clichés in green ads. Here’s my top ten lines not to use.

You’ve read all the stuff about avoiding polar bears, green fields, flowers and other guff. So here is the top ten copy clichés, in no particular order.

1. ‘…won’t cost the earth.’ I admit I wrote this line on an ad for Lucas Diesel Products back in 1994. Even then it was cheesy, even if it was probably one of the first of the green ads.

1. ‘Turn over a new leaf.’ Promises, promises. People who are promising to reform always brings to mind that phrase ‘leopards never change their spots.

1. ‘They won’t just be green with envy.’ Green with envy is a cliché even before it got the green make over.

1. ‘Save more than just money,’ or ‘it’s not just money you’ll be saving.’ This line appeared in a well know greenwash bank ad recently.

1. ‘Be the change in the world.’ or the original quote, "be the change you wish to see in the world", Gandhi said this and it appears in every CSR document.

1. ‘A breath of fresh air.’ Unlike this headline.

1. ‘We’re doing our bit.’ Usually means we’re doing bugger all but just enough to make a claim.

1. ‘Putting people and planet before profits,’ Yeah. Right. As if.

1. CO. Adapting CO in any name or line into CO2.

1. ‘Together…’ Any suggestion of partnership in saving the planet usually comes from those exploiting it.

Other clichés include giving away free ethical bags, energy saving light bulbs and a 7 point guide to being green.

There is a growing number of new ones daily, feel free to add you own below. 

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the greenest of them all?

The Sunday Times this weekend published its top 50 best green companies. It makes interesting reading, as much for who isn’t there as who is.

Top is a JC Atkinson & Son, a company you probably have never heard of. That’s because they makes coffins. An unusual choice, given their coffins are still made of wood rather than the more eco type that are made of wicker or cardboard (check out www.ecocoffins.com). But I guess it makes for better PR. 

In third place is the Co-op (financial services), so no surprise there. Fourth was Pureprint, with with one other printer, Sevenprint, also getting in the top 50.

The National Magazine Company came in at 10^th, making  Good Housekeeping more than just a title but an ethos. Though ironically, they don’t publish one ethical title I can think of.

It’s notable that only two top brands made the top ten, the Co-op and HBOS. Overall there are very few big names, the exception being Cannon, Eurostar, Pfizer and Total (yep, an oil company actually made it in). There were also a lack of green and ethical brands, though Good Energy, Greencare H20 and Renewable Energy Systems got places.

So where were all those brands that have been spending a small fortune on telling us green they are or how much they are saving the environment? Well at least E-on sponsored it.

Not surprisingly, no agencies or agency groups made it anywhere into the list, though ?What if? did make 18. Reading the blurb, many agencies may want to follow their lead, especially in taking big gas guzzling cars away from directors and subsidising the purchase of G-Wizz electric cars and bikes.

Clear Channel Outdoor made 22 (thankfully no one asked if using electric light to illuminate posters at night was green or not).

One other media company, Pindar Set, got in and are involved with Yellow pages. Now, maybe I’m wrong here, but in an era when the majority of homes have internet and almost everyone has a mobile, is dumping 22 million copies of directories on people’s doorstep very green? I guess that isn’t a question that would be on the ST’s application form. 

It may be that this is more an exercise in form filling and box ticking than actually being a really ethical company. I for one was not convinced that it was a list of the best green companies when so many really green ones were not there (especially ones that feature high in the Ethical Brand Index) like Body Shop, Boots, Ecotricity, People Tree, Terraplana and the many, many more. And where was the Carbon Neutral Company?

Sunday Times do make a point that it’s for those ‘striving to improve their environmental performance.’ That’s not the same as being green, so the ‘Best Green Companies’ is a bit of a deceptive title. It should be called, “The companies trying to get greener’ list. It’s also notable that they can’t decide if it’s a competition or list.

But one bonus of buying the Sunday Times is that you can get a free eco-bag with a Best Green Companies logo on. Except it’s not actually free as you have to pay £1.99 for postage and 8p a minute to order it. If, like me, you already have a massive collection of free eco-bags (full of free energy saving light bulbs) I can’t see any need for another. Though I’m sure they’ll find a way to recycle them next year.

'Avoidance' a new word for the advertising dictionary.

The age of ad avoidance is upon us. When once research told us people thought the ads were better than the TV shows, is it all changing? The Cadbury's, Sony and Honda work represents less than 1% of the industry's output, leaving most of the rest of the output disappointing. In green circles, ads are becoming the new pollution.

A recent study by Google's DoubleClick reveals that 65% of DVR users mostly ignore the ads. Those that do look at ads claim it’s only occasionally. More than half fast forward through the commercials. Add to that, only 9% of online TV watchers look at the ads, while only 3% of viewers said that online ads make an impression on them at all.

‘Disruption’ was the word a few years ago. Trouble is, people don’t want to be disrupted. Apparently, sales of 24 on DVD rose when it went on SKY because the ads spoilt the pace.

I once was in an Indian restaurant after a lecture. When the waiter discovered my friend and I lived in North London he returned with a sales pack for his brothers double glazing business (based in Kilburn). This was disruption too far.

In Sao Paulo they’ve taken all the ads down – billboards, signs, transport – all gone and the people love it. How many other cities are thinking the same?

Comedian, Bill Hicks was famous for his hate of advertising. “By the way, if anyone here is in advertising or marketing, kill yourself. Seriously though, if you are, do. No really, there's no rationalisation for what you do, and you are Satan's little helpers, OK? You're the ruiner of all things good. This is not a joke. You’re thinking, “there's gonna be a joke coming... “There's no joke coming, you are Satan's spawn, filling the world with bile and garbage, you are screwed and you are screwing us. Kill yourselves, it's the only way to save your soul.”

The public’s trust has been undermined by spin and deception. Direct mail made up a third of all complaints made to the Fundraising Standards Board (FRSB) last year. Greenwash ads are at an all time high. In the foolish pursuit of lower price and faster turn around, really bad cheap ads – like Brand TV’s ad for Frupps - are making UK TV look like bad US TV. It’s a big turn off.

Here’s a simple question every client should ask themselves.

If you put a price tag on your ad (TV, radio, press, poster or dm) would anyone want to buy it?

I bet 99% of people would say no. In fact, you couldn’t give away most ads free (not unless you cover mounted a CD or DVD on it). I can imagine Dom Joly trying this on his Trigger Happy TV show. Which leads to another bigger question - why do we make so much stuff no one wants? Especially when there’s lots of stuff around they do and are happy to pay for.

Just take the work of Edward Monkton (created by Purple Ronnie author Giles Andreae). In lectures and workshops I often ask how many people have his work, most do. So what gift does Giles have, that many adland creatives obviously don’t have (or aren’t allowed to use) that allows him to create work people are willing to pay £2.50 and more for?

There’s a lesson to be learnt here. Consider this, would an ad agency that created ads people buy (instead of having them thrust at them) be more successful?

If agencies were briefed to “make me an ad so amazing and engaging people would pay me for it,” the industry would be very different.

Saatchi & Saatchi takes fresh approach to pollution.

S&S LA have created a great campaign to highlight beach pollution in America. Consumers are doing more green talking than walking. And what’s the difference between organic and sustainable cotton?

As part of a campaign for the Surfrider Campaign, staff at Saatchi & Saatchi LA have been up early to collect up all the rubbish on Venice Beach (hard life compared to London), pack it into styrofoam dishes like seafood and place them in farmers markets with the label CATCH OF THE DAY on. Beautifully packaged cigarette buts, condoms and other trash certainly drive the point home.

They have also been building sand sculptures of sea animals and highlighting that the sand sculptures are disappearing as fast as the real thing. When collapsed a buried sign is revealed with the line on, "Pollution and beach development are destroying marine life. This quickly."

A recent survey by TNS reveals that Americans would pay more for green products, well that’s what 53% of US consumers say. But those of us who work in the ethical marketing arena know there’s a big difference between the talk and the walk. Only 19% were really concerned with a company’s greenness.

Another survey carried out in Europe for a major shoe brand was equally revealing. Woman who claimed to be highly interested in buying ethical shoes ended up opting for fashion first (what a surprise). By contrast men were more inclined to buy ethical foot ware than they claimed in the survey.

The challenge to brands is to convert the intent into action.

Conscientious consumers are having to face a few dilemmas about ethical cotton, a market that is exploding and now worth over £1bn. What is the difference between organic and sustainable? To many consumers it sounds the same but using the phrase sustainable has been banned in ads in the UK because it’s misleading and dubbed a greenwash term

Most organic cotton comes from Turkey, China and India, but a few critics suspect there’s more organic cotton sold than produced. So consumers are advised to stick to major brands, like Nike, Wal-Mart, Woolworths, M&S and H&M, all users of real organic cotton.

A recent report reveals that we throw away up to 25% of what we buy in packaging and food that goes past its sell by date. WRAP have been running a campaign to try and encourage people to be less wasteful. It’s claimed we waste up to £10bn worth a year, that’s over £600 per average family household.

After going through thousands of bin bags (I think I’d prefer the beach job myself), they concluded we were throwing away about 4.4 million apples, 1.6 million bananas, 660,000 eggs, 550 chickens, 300,000 packets of crisps and 440,000 ready meals (I imagine most of the ready meals were thrown after one spoonful if the last one I bought was anything to go by).

Anyone thinking of setting up an ad agency (to sell to Proton or Engine) may do better launching an ethical drink. Pepsi just bought V Water for an estimated £10m, not bad when you consider it only started just  4 years ago.

And finally, to the world of retail -  the Competition Commission has just published its final report in its inquiry into UK groceries retailing, Wholefoods are looking to open stores in Manchester and Birmingham and good old green M&S have taken the plunge and started to charge for carrier bags.