In this special episode, we dive into the campaign to end the advertising industry’s fossil fuel addiction–and how activists showed up at SXSW. Recorded live on stage during the festival this March, sustainability editor Kathryn Lundstrom speaks with Duncan Meisel, executive director of Clean Creatives and one of Adweek’s 2023 Sustainability Honorees. Stream the new…
In August 2022, an ad for Unilever’s Persil brand was banned by the U.K.’s advertising watchdog, the ASA, for claiming the detergent was “kinder to the planet.” Part of its longstanding “Dirt Is Good” campaign, which espouses the benefits of getting muddy while encouraging young people to act on social and environmental issues, the TV…
In the midst of existential peril, turning to larger concepts outside of our material reality is a major comfort. Looking to the stars for inspiration and hope is a human reflex as old as time. But today, it can feel as though cultural conversions around “the universe” center on colonial, capitalism-fueled ideals–Elon Musk’s race to…
Shoppers in New Jersey this summer might notice something different at their local CVS and Target stores–a kiosk offering to take back reusable shopping bags for $1 each. It’s part of a new pilot program by Closed Loop Partners’ Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag, a multi-year project to develop seamless alternatives to the single-use…
If aliens have been patiently waiting to take over Earth, they’re plenty hacked off about the environmental damage being done on a daily basis. What kind of world are humans leaving them? That’s one of the cheeky questions behind a just-launched campaign from plant-based startup WhatIF Foods. Using a whimsical scenario to tackle a serious…
Sustainability and environmental issues have been a part of South by Southwest’s focus for more than a decade–and this year was no different, with brands like Ben & Jerry’s, Patagonia and Slack bringing green messaging to the Texas capital through more creative mediums. Since former U.S. vice president Al Gore gave a keynote on climate…
McCann Worldgroup has announced a new sustainability dashboard, the Green Tracker, to measure progress as it works to decarbonize its business. The dashboard will offer a real-time look at the agency’s global emissions across 14 data points, from air travel and taxis to electricity and heating for nearly 100 offices. For now, the tracker is…
As it turns out, serving digital ads to real human eyeballs is good not just for advertisers but also the planet. A report from attention-based ad-tech platform Playground xyz used emissions data from Scope3 to show that serving ads that drive higher attention metrics cuts carbon emissions. “We wanted to merge these two worlds: One…
As industries and lawmakers grapple with the reality of climate change and the transitions that it requires, the environmental, social and governance (ESG) regulatory and reporting landscape is expanding into a complicated sprawl. To help marketers navigate those complexities, the 4A’s today released a new white paper that outlines what agencies should know about ratings…
We’ve all seen those movie montages that show heartbroken characters as they mope around doing something aimlessly while a slow, sad song plays over just to reiterate that they aren’t happy after a fight with their one true love. Well, in the month of February, international tech company Bolt has produced a campaign replicating exactly…
Last week, when luxury conglomerate LVMH made the surprising decision to appoint Pharrell Williams as creative director for Louis Vuitton, fashion insiders were shocked. But from a marketer’s perspective, the choice signaled what’s been evident for some time: The future for brands rest in the hands of multi-hyphenate creatives. Spirit brand Diageo further validated that…
Agencies and ad-tech vendors are working to clean up the media supply chain–environmentally speaking. But real progress will be slow without common agreed-upon measurements. Last week, WPP’s GroupM announced an updated version of its carbon calculator, based on the media decarbonization methodology released last July. It lets agencies estimate the carbon emissions of a client’s…
As much as it is a scientific, technological or political problem, climate change is a communications problem–as celebrated broadcast journalist and natural historian David Attenborough has said. And when it comes to business and culture, marketers are the some of most highly trained and influential forces of communication. With that in mind, Adweek’s 2023 sustainability…
Sharks very rarely attack humans, though people often fear the aquatic predators due to their portrayal in horror movies like Jaws and The Shallows. Tampa-based agency PPK for the Animal Welfare Institute in Washington, D.C. is flipping the script on those films with a campaign pointing out that when humans and sharks interact, it’s the…
Make way for a new term in your sustainability lexicon: greenhushing, a practice stemming from brands’ fear of appearing to greenwash. As people become more aware of, and concerned about, climate change, they’re increasingly holding brands accountable for how their operations are impacting the planet–and whether they’re upholding the claims made in their marketing. Rather…
In this episode of CMO Moves, three sustainability trailblazers discuss their efforts with Adweek CXO Jenny Rooney to bring awareness to The Future Is Mainstream Green action plan. The CMO Sustainability Accelerator (CSA) and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) created the report to highlight the work CMOs must do to drive sustainable practices in their businesses….
Super Bowl ads are where brands tend to pull out all the stops–factors like A-list celebrities, sexy locations and new product launches all combine to create what marketers hope will make their ad the star of every watch party in the country and around the globe. But all those ingredients can also create a pretty…
Even if you’re not a coffee drinker, chances are you’re familiar with the Nescaf? jar. Made of resilient glass with a removable lid, these multipurpose canisters often see a second life after being emptied of coffee, holding everything from dried foods to paintbrushes. Nescaf? Coffee Canada’s newest campaign celebrates that very versatility while informing consumers…
Farmers continue to face myriad existential challenges: climate change, regulation, rising costs and slimmer margins. And family farms are being driven out of business: According to 2022 Canadian census figures, the number of farms has fallen by 44% in the last 45 years, from 338,552 in 1976 to 189,874 farms in 2021. Canada-based McCain Foods…
The last time Americans saw this giant flying cucumber–not a euphemism–it was traveling at a low altitude snail’s pace across 13 U.S. cities as the eccentric brand emissary for Hendrick’s Gin. After resting for a few years, the 133-foot airship with a Victorian vibe is back in action, headed for Glendale, Ariz., on Feb. 12….
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