Doin' the Green thang

'Sunshine', this week's cheeky UK ad of the week for Greenpeace, is the latest in a glut of eco-friendly ads this year, and with 2008 fast approaching, we decided it would be a good time to take a look at who else has been expounding the virtues of going Green...

2006 was undoubtedly the year in which the frozen issue of climate change began to thaw into the mainstream and the words ‘carbon’ and ‘footprint’ first came together, for most of us, to mean something other than the possible result of walking through a pile of coal; Al Gore first told us of ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ and we had the inception of the 'Green Awards' promoting creativity in sustainability.

However, it’s throughout 2007 that brands and organisations have really woken up to public concern on the issue, undoubtedly helped along by the aforementioned ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ as well as ‘Live Earth’, both perpetrated by Al Gore. So maybe we should actually thank Kyoto rebel George W. Bush, because if it wasn’t for his frankly astounding victory in the US presidential race all that time ago, Gore wouldn’t be able to devote so much time to the issue of climate change and the great and good of adland might not have been compelled to produce so much top-notch eco-friendly advertising, some of which we’ve decided to take a look at here.

Sky have been quietly carbon neutral since 2006, but decided that 2007 was the year we should all know about it. The novel approach to announcing this admirable feat was created by WCRS and Hibbert Ralph Animation and features ‘Cool Cat’ a 1930’s rubber-hose-style animated cat and the catchy-as-hell ‘Joy to the World’ from Three Dog Night. The result is a toe-tapping triumph that is full of feel-good factor. How do they substantiate the claims? Shut up and look at the pretty pictures.

Even though Toyota have made - and continue to make - such gas guzzlers as the Land Cruiser, due to their ground-breaking Prius they are the car manufacturer of choice for the environmentally conscious…and those wishing to avoid paying the congestion charge. Therefore, unlike Sky, it’s easy to see the substance behind this equally attractive execution from Dentsu and Tool of North America, and their pledge to continue the good work is a prime example of a simple idea well-executed. However, after the big Chevy Tahoe SUV’s recent victory as the American Green Car of the Year at the Los Angeles Auto Show, they had better get to making cars from twigs quick-sharp before they get usurped as the world’s favourite Green conscious car manufacturer.

MTV, never shy to raise the issues that need to be talked about, showcased a series of films as part of the launch of ‘Switch’, their initiative to encourage young people to make small changes to their energy wasting habits, earlier this year. The films are a veritable smorgasbord of techniques and talents that are very mindful of their target audience, and our June cover star ‘3650’, from the combined talents of Paul Smith of Ogilvy, ubik, and Picasso Pictures, is a particular highlight, with some charming animation, beautiful music and a clear, succinct message well represented.

This work is just the tip of the (fast melting) iceberg, but each demonstrates a different and interesting approach, and is part of a wider mission to build a brand recognised for being serious about going Green rather than just taking the first opportunity to jump on the bandwagon with an ill-conceived and half-baked execution, of which there are plenty. However, we will be checking to see if the lights are turned off the next time we take a late night stroll past the MTV studios in Camden.