Cannes Lions is without doubt the most important
meeting place and a powerful force for change in the advertising industry. How
we use this opportunity matters.
It’s the
Davos
of advertising; so how do we want to show up in the world? What can we achieve
if we act together? If we dare to dream big? If we apply that creative force we
love to celebrate? What world could we envision our children to live in?
Two weeks before Cannes, UN Secretary General António Guterres
warned
that we are “on a climate highway to hell” and that our industry should
immediately stop fossil-fuel
advertising.
He applauded our action against cigarettes decades before to showcase how we
can come together.
Cannes Lions did put the non-profit Clean
Creatives, which is leading the industry movement
away from fossil-fuel
advertising,
on stage — an endorsement of the validity of its message after years of its
disruptions
of the event from the sidelines. Yet, what could have been a progressive move
from Cannes Lions if delivered years earlier now seems like low-hanging fruit,
rather than real leadership.
As an industry, we are beginning a concerted effort to measure and reduce our
carbon
footprint.
We can do this. Yet, our real impact comes from the nearly US$1 trillion
advertising spend — as Purpose Disruptors and others have highlighted as
advertised emissions.
Does your ad spend or campaign help decrease or increase emissions?
The bumpy road to climate-friendlier living
Let me give you an example from a country often viewed as "green": Denmark. On
a good day, when the wind is blowing, Denmark produces more renewable energy
from wind than is needed; yet, the average carbon footprint per citizen is 13
tons. If we as global citizens are to stay within the 1.5°C scenario needed
to avoid the most dangerous effects of climate change, the footprint should stay
below 2.5 tons — even in a country powered by wind energy, our footprint is too
high.
Doconomy’s multi-award-winning, 2019 "Do Black"
campaign
used science to show ordinary people how to cut down on their carbon emissions
by showing them their carbon footprint of their spending habits. It worked; and
recently, Doconomy secured +US$35M in funding to continue scaling its impacts. Again, a win-win.
So, why aren’t more of us using our creative talents to help people understand
the
impacts
of their shopping habits and lifestyles? In Denmark, like the rest of the
Global North, people are buying too much stuff — or simply too climate-heavy
stuff such as fast
fashion,
fast
furniture
and cheap weekend
flights.
In Europe, the supermarkets are in an out-of-control discount war, where
everyone will lose — from the supermarkets themselves to the farmers and other
suppliers who can’t make a living.
Let me be clear, it is possible to live very well without hurting the planet.
People simply need guidance.
A fight for less bad
One of this year’s winning campaigns — “The Move to -15” by shipping company
DP World — challenged the industry-standard practice
of shipping frozen food around the world at -18°C; and, armed with novel
research, proved that -15°C is not only safe but saves money, energy and up to
17.7m tons of emissions per year. DP World encouraged others in the industry to
follow and now 60 percent of all shipping has made the switch — another win-win.
As an industry, we can help invent and inspire those carbon-clever choices
without hurting our bottom line. What products or services are our industry
willing to advertise? What if we labelled bad products instead of the good ones
and asked the polluters to pay? What if we established a carbon baseline for
every product category — and if a product exceeds the limit, we don’t advertise
it?
No accountability, no consequences
If we are to attract future talent and safeguard our industry’s legitimacy, we
must address our image problem. We are not lawyers or doctors, where we can lose
our licence. Yet, the impact we have on people’s behaviours, habits,
self-esteem, dreams and aspirations are unquestionable. Maybe we should
implement a code of conduct? Or kick out bad players? What happened to the days
where every ad had the name of the agency in the upper right-hand corner? That
was accountability. We need to be proud about working in advertising — how can
we be that without any responsibility or accountability?
Your creativity is desperately needed
In 1959, one of Volvo’s engineers, Nils
Bohlin,
invented the three-point seatbelt — which we all use today. Yet, Volvo believed
it was too important an innovation to patent and keep — and instead shared it
with the global car industry.
Time is running out. The critical voices against our industry — from
legislators to people on the
street
— are gaining in strength. We can react — or maybe it’s time we act together and
apply our creativity to solve our (industry’s) biggest challenges.
Get the latest insights, trends, and innovations to help position yourself at the forefront of sustainable business leadership—delivered straight to your inbox.
Thomas Kolster is an internationally recognised marketing & sustainability expert, author and keynote speaker, and founder of the global Goodvertising movement that’s inspired a shift in advertising for the better.
Published Jul 8, 2024 8am EDT / 5am PDT / 1pm BST / 2pm CEST