Hardly natural

According to a January 2007 article in Consumer Affairs, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) threatened to sue Cadbury-Schweppes for marketing 7UP as “All Natural” (if you forgot about those TV ads with people picking 7UP from trees, you can watch them here). The lawsuit was dropped when 7UP agreed to focus on only the undebatably natural ingredients, excluding the controversial sweetener, high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS).

From article: “We are pleased that Cadbury-Schweppes has fixed what was a flawed and deceptive marketing campaign and that this issue was resolved without our actually suing,” said CSPI litigation director Steve Gardner. “We look forward to seeing exactly which words the company uses to describe its ingredients on labels and on marketing materials, but trust they won’t imply that high-fructose corn syrup is ‘natural.'”

And then, over a year later, 7UP is running this ad in magazines.

Apparently, they took away the wording “All natural” and replaced it with… “Au Natural.” Get it? ‘Cause the chick is naked. Riiight.

You think you’re slick, 7UP, with your “100% Natural Flavor.” But you still have HFCS, which is “made through a complex chemical industrial process in which corn starch molecules are enzymatically reassembled into glucose and fructose molecules.” In other words, you’re about as likely find it in nature as you are to find yourself lounging naked in a pile of leaves with America’s Next Top Model.

This makes me angry because it’s undermining all the REAL natural beverage choices out there. And sadly, 7UP is in fact fooling a lot of consumers; for the 15 weeks of the campaign last year, sales rose 18% vs. the same period a year ago according to USA Today.

Guide to Green Living?

How’s this for step 1: Stop wasteful junk mail!

Sure, it’s 40% recycled post consumer waste, but couldn’t you have just emailed this, National Geographic?

Campbell’s is going green. Or are they….?

I noticed these new “Earth Day” Campbell’s Soup cans on a recent visit to Wal-Mart. I was following the PSP captain as he took me through the store pointing out every sustainable product. He and I both did a double take at the Campbell’s display. We picked up the product, examined it, and then drew the same conclusions as this blog.

Campbell’s Soup has special green cans now because their soup is condensed and the can is 100% recyclable.

That’s super, Mr. Campbell. But both of those things have been true since 1897 (according to their website). So before you go ahead and Earth Day yourself, why don’t you come up with a NEW innovation to help the planet. One that hasn’t been around since before the birth of time.

It’s actions like these, my chicken-noodled friend, that give green marketing a bad name. A name we all know as Greenwashing.

You + 200 million

Whenever I go on a hike through a beautiful redwood forest, you know what I take with me? A light bulb. But not just any light bulb, a CFL, because that makes the trees happy.

These new Wal-Mart ads from the Martin Agency are under fire from many bloggers, like AdFreak. And I’ll admit that their nature settings are ridiculous – why does EVERY green campaign feel the need to surround itself with leaves or trees? Just slap some ivy on my head and bam! I’m sustainable.

But this campaign does something that I like – it points out the sheer number of Wal-Mart shoppers in America. Making it clear that it’s not just you making a difference; it’s you and the 200 million other folks that you’re standing in line with. All of whom together can really make an impact. Of course, that impact is nothing compared to corporate policies to reduce CO2 emissions in buildings, trucks and suppliers. But, as we know more than most people, they’re working on that.

I would write more but I have to get going; I’m taking my carton of soymilk to the beach.

Is any drop green?

Oh, Fiji Water. You’re like the pretty girl at school that everyone loves to hate. Your bottles, with their cornered curves are so sensual. Your images of tropical bliss. But, then, we remember – you come in a plastic bottle… and you are flown in all the way from Fiji! So, I guess you’re more like the pretty, non eco-friendly, high carbon emissions girl at school. We totally had one of those at my school, her name was Emily. But I digress.

As you can see all over the media, bottled water is under attack. I don’t blame Fiji Water for wanting to defend themselves. They created a new site, Fiji Green, to show that they’re not actually as evil as we think. And, in my opinion, they do a pretty good job of it – they were the first bottled water company to make public their total annual carbon footprint (85,396 tons, according to their site), they highlight their plans to become carbon negative, save the rainforests and help the people of Fiji have access to clean drinking water. They even reference the famous “Big Foot” New Yorker Article  to “Debunk the ‘food miles’ myth.” They point out that “Bottled water contributes a mere 0.33% of the U.S. municipal waste stream, and Fiji Water comprises less than 2% of that total.”

Basically, they claim that they’re doing what they can. And really, short of shutting their company down, I think they are. Look through their site, can you think of anything they can do to become more sustainable (aside from moving Fiji half way around the globe)?

So, I’m not going to hate you anymore, Fiji Water. That being said, I’m still not going to buy your product, tap water is just fine for me, thanks.

Oh, the irony

I’m having a hard time deciding which of the following two scenarios is more ironic.

A major oil company creating a campaign for carpooling.

Or the same company posting a promise to “reuse things more” on a disposable coffee sleeve that’s wrapped around a disposable cup.

The back of the sleeve goes on to explain that it’s made of 100% recycled material. And that products like this sleeve “are just one of the ways we can use our resources more wisely.”

Oh really, Chevron? Is it a wise use of resources to waste a new cup and sleeve for every 8 oz. of coffee we pour down our throats? Would it not be wiser to post that message on a reusable cup so you don’t come off looking totally ridiculous?

And furthermore, Chevron, are you suggesting that people reuse the cardboard coffee sleeve? Because I don’t see that happening. Instead, by “reuse,” I think you actually mean “recycle” which is lower down on the R chain. There’s a reason behind the order of “reduce, reuse, recycle.” Each word is less effective than the one it follows. So stop trying to up your R status.

Tap your tap

Let’s talk about bottled water. As we know, this industry is under attack, and for very valid reasons. These companies use energy, oil and other precious resources to package and ship the stuff that comes through the pipes of pretty much every American home. This is generally seen as negative. So it’s not surprising that the bottled water industry is fighting back. Each company is using a different arsenal to defend themselves. Let’s review…

As previously discussed in this blog, Fiji is using the full-disclosure method.

Arrowhead is using an “eco-shapeTM” plastic bottle approach. Though the term itself is an oxymoron. And the commercial, viewable here, is nothing less than offensive; drinking bottled water with 30% less packaging does not an environmentalist make. The fact they compare drinking bottled water to planting a garden, bike riding, and carpooling? Shame on you, Arrowhead.

Then there’s Ethos, straight of left field: ‘drink our water and help children in Africa.’ From a copy and layout perspective, this is one of the poorest ads I’ve ever seen.

Bottled water, Matt Damon, Africa… you lost me at “As a matter of fact…” It’s great that they’re raising awareness of the world water crisis. But what if they raised awareness without wasting resources and contributing to landfill. Wouldn’t that be better? Before companies go off contributing time and money to help solve the problems in the world, they must first look inward and see if they can improve their own systems and products. And really, who starts a headline with “As a matter of fact.” And what does Matt Damon have to do with Africa?

My advice: Don’t stop drinking bottled water because it’s unsustainable, stop drinking it because their ads are weak. Buy yourself a nice water filter and a reusable bottle to boycott poor copywriting.

Drive like there is a tomorrow

Local Bay Area agency, Butler Shine Stern & Partners, has launched a new environmentally-focused campaign for Mini USA. But they want to make it clear that being environmentally focused does not mean sacrificing fun. In fact, they combine the two in their promotional site: “What’s Your Carfun Footprint?”

A Carfun Footprint is a measure of how fun your car is to drive (based on a research study) versus how much it impacts the environment (based on EPA ratings). You can enter in the make and model of your car on the site’s calculator to receive your own Carfun Footprint ranking. Incidentally, Mini cars surpasses all other makes and models by this ranking. Not so surprising, since THEY INVENTED IT.

Is Mini a green or blue company? Not really. They still make regular old fuel-powered cars. But their MPG has always been lower than many brands, and I like the way they combine environmentalism with fun in this campaign. Plus, the copywriting in fabulous, including a billboard above in downtown San Francisco (which I sadly can’t find a picture of) that reads: “Drive like there is a tomorrow.” And some fun lines featured in this magazine ad:

FightGlobalWarming.com

This “Train” ad, or as I’ve renamed it “Chugga chugga… you’re murdering children!” from the Ad Council and Environmental Defense is many things. Intense: yes. Jarring: yes. Effective: perhaps. Optimistic: no.

When I’m promoting sustainability, I like to stick to positive psychology and optimism as a general rule. Choosing to fill people with hope rather than fear to get them to act. However, fear is often used as a fairly successful tool in advertising – fear of getting fat, fear of not fitting in, fear of germs. These are all ways that companies convince consumers to buy their product. But with such a huge (and obviously frightening) issue as global warming, I’m curious to see whether or not fear is a good motivator. My first reaction is no, however, this ad certainly stuck in my mind, so that means something.

What’s interesting to me is how that dark message of gloom and doom is followed up with a “What you can do” page featuring a smiley Earth cartoon drinking orange juice.

One more thing I’d like to point out that troubles me about this ad: the use of a Caucasian blonde girl. I find this inappropriate; she’s not the one that will be affected by global warming first, it will be the children in developing countries with no food or water. They’re the ones that will be on that track long before Shirley Temple feels the effects. In fact, children in many countries are already being hit by that train.

I much prefer this organization’s print and outdoor ads, which you’ve probably seen on buses or in magazines. These are also straight to the point, but more motivational with a direct call to action. What do you think?

GM to sponsor green channel

Greenwashing isn’t always in the form of ads; it can also be brought to the public via entertainment sponsorship. In this case, a new TV network; The first TV network exclusively devoted to environmental issues will be exclusively sponsored by none other than General Motors. The Discovery Communications Planet Green, a 24-hour eco-lifestyle network, launches June 4.

This, from the company who brings us “gas-friendly to gas-free.” Wow, GM, you are just so chock full of fuel-efficiently solutions. But wait, why are the streets of America still being polluted by the gas-guzzling, 3.4 metric tons of carbon per year-emitting Hummer?

Oh yeah, because YOU KEEP MAKING THEM