Only You Can Prevent Climate Change

Gore group will launch climate marketing campaign

Posted at 10:42 AM on 24 Mar 2008

Al Gore. Photo: World Resources Institute via Flickr

Al Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection plans to spend more than $300 million over the next three years on a marketing campaign aimed at getting Americans to address climate change. With ads developed by the Martin Agency (the folks behind the Geico cavemen and chatty gecko) and partnerships with grassroots groups, the campaign focus will be on the how-to aspect of cutting greenhouse gases. "Right now, we have incredible numbers of people in the U.S. who say global warming is an important problem that needs to be fixed," says the Martin Agency's Mike Hughes. "But most people think there's nothing they can do about it -- or that someone should do something about it, but that someone isn't them." Yep, that sounds like most of the people we know. The alliance also hopes to persuade consumer-product manufacturers to use packaging and advertising to "amplify the message" about curbing global warming. Says Alliance CEO Cathy Zoi, "We have to mainstream this. It has to become easy and normal."

sources: USA Today, Plenty Magazine

ADVERTISING POLICY

Comments: (4 comments)

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If it becomes half as popular...

...as the Geico or Caveman commercials (which were succesful enough to spin off their own television series based on 'em), then this'll be a real treat and an even better gift!

by Tasermons Partner at 12:08 PM on 24 Mar 2008

good luck...

Al Gore has his heart in the right place, but he can't seem to get anything quite right...

In an open ended gallup poll this month asking Americans what the most important problem facing our country was, none responded with global warming, and only 2 percent said energy and 1 percent environment/pollution. Where are the "incredible numbers" that Al Gore speaks of?

Any marketing campaign that focuses on the minor solutions to global warming will ultimately fail, especially when many of Gore's solutions are going to cost us. Global warming is inextricably linked to many of the issues that Americans care about (economy, jobs, oil, the war, etc.), but it's not being framed that way. And needless to say, Gore's little demand-side solutions are NOT going to reduce America's carbon emissions significantly, especially if they're using packaging (let me guess - plastic) and commercials. Furthermore, it will not create the positive atmosphere for the massive investment and social and policy shifts we need to build a climate positive America.

For all that Gore has done for the climate movement, it's time for him to take a back seat and give up the hopeless, elitist, survivalist mantra he's been sporting lately. It's time for a different environmentalism - holistic, practical, economic, sustainable, and just.

by kaibosworth at 7:16 PM on 24 Mar 2008

Goals

I actually met Cathy Zoi, the CEO of the Alliance for Climate Protection, a few months ago. Unless they've changed their direction since then, she was very much focused on the realpolitik of climate change. She described their strategy this way:

There exists scads of polling data showing that the vast majority of Americans are concerned about climate change and want the government to do something about it. Kaibosworth is very right that the issue fails to register in open-ended polls, but that doesn't mean that Americans don't care. It just means that there is a greater sense of immediacy for most people about issues like the Iraq War, health care, and the economy. The goal of the ad campaign is literally to get climate change on that open-ended polling map, because until that happens, we're not going to make any major political progress.

The Alliance is having these top-dollar commercials made not just to get people to conserve energy, but to drive home the connection between turning on the lights and emitting greenhouse gases. In other words, they're trying to make climate change more relevant to people's daily lives. If the public is thinking about it, they're more likely to mention it to a pollster.

Here's an example that they've been testing in some areas: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Op-DyH4gyLU.

by Syjel at 7:44 PM on 24 Mar 2008

Success Stories

When presenting "What if there were a better say?", I find alot of people believe that we don't have viable options to fossils without a life of subsistence or deprivation. I would like to see the campaign feature the many effective and proven conservation/efficiency programs already in play including off-the-shelf technologies that are already saving individuals/companies/communities major dollars in the long run as well as signficantly reducing carbon emissions. Many more major players would implement the right strategies if given the right information.

Also needed with a individual empowerment program is a national legislative policy reformation to put us on the right path. The up front cost of some of the better technologies are deal breakers for many. This is where a national and legislative/policy drive has to be part of the equation and not policies that simply rearrange deck chairs on the Titanic.

by meacassidy at 1:24 PM on 25 Mar 2008

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