DECC in the dock

I see there have been a number of complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority over the government’s £6m climate change campaign, currently airing on TV.

The complainants are split between climate change deniers and people who say the ad frightens children.

I disagree with both sets of whingers. One point one, the overwhelming evidence indicates that climate change is man-made so I’ve little time for the denier squad.

The ASA has accepted this as policy so although it is investigating the ad due to the volume of complaints, hopefully the watchdog will stand firm on this point.

As for viewers saying it frightens their little angels, well sorry but climate change is pretty scary. If the campaign makes this known to a wider audience then surely that should be applauded not denigrated.

Public musings on Tesco's Bogof plan

It’s always interesting to find out what real people think of green marketing initiatives.

The London Lite dedicated a good chunk of its letters page to Tesco’s plan to run ‘buy one, get one free later’ promotions using vouchers to help cut food waste.

If the letters are a fair reflection of the Lite’s postbag then it seems to have received a resounding thumbs-up. Liz from Hendon says it is ‘more effective than some vague ideal of a virtuous carbon-free life’. Likewise David from Tufnell Park, said the move was a ‘brilliant idea’.

But then Suzie, from N18, (what is it about north-west London? Are they all serial Tesco watchers there?), takes a different view. Suzie reckons its ‘just PR’ and calls for the supermarket giant to half its prices instead before adding ‘obviously they would then receive less money’.

Probably true but surely every little helps, Suzie?

A changing climate for the ASA

So the Department of Energy and Climate Change has launched its first ad campaign. Here's my story on it. Opinion is mixed here at Haymarket, the publisher of Marketing. While it's not going to win any awards, I quite like the AMV-created ad. It's no easy task communicating the total annihilation of the human race but simultaneously offer the chance of possible salvation. 

However over at Marketing's sister website, brandrepublic, readers of its story on the same subject are told that:'Given global warming is not accepted as scientific fact by a large and usually silent part of the scientific community fearful of a backlash, the campaign could provoke anger that the government is broadcasting political messages with taxpayer's money.' This is not attributed to anyone, by the way.

If you can ignore the blantant editorialising and, in my opinion, inaccuracy inherent in the assertion, I think this story shows that the ad has the potential to give the Advertising Standards Authority a major headache with climate change deniers.

However the indications are that ASA gives these types short shrift and has taken the policy position of believing that climate change is happening. While the ASA doesn't always get things right, on this point I'm 100% behind them.
 

Tap water takes the fight to the capital

Evian, Vittel and Volvic beware. In an earlier blog I wrote about how Australian town Bundanoon had banned bottled water. Now London town has emerged as the next place that will challenge the dominance of the £1.5bn industry.

Hammersmith, my beloved workplace, and Tower Bridge are, according to yesterday's Observer, going to be the first sites to trial a new breed of water fountains called  ‘hydrachills’.

For a 20p charge which goes to Waste Watch, a charity working to change the way people use natural resources, users will be able to get up to 500ml of water from these fountains. If successful, the scheme will be extended across the capital and the south east. Thames Water is driving the initiative.

The Obs article has a really interesting stat that I’ve never seen before. Apparently when you add up the plastics and fuel for transport needed to get bottled water on shelves it uses more than 2,000 times the amount of energy required for tap.

With figures like these being bandied around and consumer awareness of carbon footprints growing day by day, the bottled water industry is really going to have to make a very good case for its existence.

One has already started although I’m not sure the tone is right. Posh water brand Hildon has run ads claiming that tap water is only good for showering and washing gym kit. It has also tried questioning its safety by highlighting the newspaper headline: ‘Cancer drugs found in tap water’.

The Natural Hydration Council has so far avoided attacks on tap, preferring instead to focus on the benefits of water over soft drinks. But is it now time for the gloves to come off and a lurch to hard-hitting but admittedly eye-catching communication such as Hildon’s?

Going green and going lean

Green Thing, the not-for-profit environmental movement created by Agency.com’s Andy Hobsbawn, has launched what I think is a really cute campaign.
'Glove Love' is about rescuing single gloves then (after a wash) selling on non-matching pairs for a fiver with a little Green Thing tag sewn on.
London Underground has agreed to donate some of the thousands that are left on the tube every year which at the moment are just thrown away after a certain time. A viral narrated by Emma Thompson is promoting the movement and the money raised will go to the charity the Green Thing trust.
Coincidentally I've just read the chapter of Chris Arnold's thought- provoking book 'Ethical Marketing and the New Consumer' titled 'Churn and the Disposable Society' which looks at the debate around reuse vs buying new stuff.
He, however, airs the view that reducing churn, while undoubtedly good for the environment, lowers manufacturing which is good for the economy, especially in the developing world (given the exploitation of workers that often occurs in these places I'm not sure I concur entirely but let's save that thought for another blog!).
Arnold reckons the tension can be resolved by brands taking responsibility. So a mobile phone company could market a collection service while Primark, the epitome of the fast fashion trend, could sponsor charity clothes dump bins.
Marketers will increasingly come under scrutiny in this area so ideas like these are definitely worth consideration.