Green Advertising

Green Marketing

 * By John Grant

Three Reasons

 * Green: Companies advertise greener products for commercial reasons
 * Get better gas mileage


 * Greener: Companies can encourage people to change the way they use things
 * Drive in a way that's more efficient


 * Greenest: Companies can reshape culture, making "new ways of life and new business models normal and acceptable"
 * Drive less! Don't own a car!

How can we do this?

 * Advertising can normalize things that were previous unheard of
 * Advertising creates a common language that quickly eclipses other possibilities
 * Advertisements do cultural work alongside corporate work

Why Companies Should Participate

 * If people don't change, consumerism and advertising won't matter
 * Also something that will motivate consumers
 * Will also allow companies to re-brand themselves as green and conscientious

Greenwashing

 * Trade-off
 * No proof: No certification or authentication
 * Vagueness: Not quite true
 * Irrelevance: Promise is generally or even legally required to be true
 * Fibbing: Lies
 * Lesser of Two Evils

Examples

 * Timberland
 * Still Committed?
 * Demonstrable
 * Profits are down


 * Google
 * Full Commitment
 * Beyond Marketing
 * Selling a Culture of Cool


 * Patagonia
 * Full Commitment
 * Demonstrable
 * Full integration

Green Marketing

 * Markets a personal benefit
 * Challenges consumption
 * Makes change familiar and accessible
 * Leverages brand as trusted sources
 * Turns the informational environment of consumers into an ally of both brands and environmental issues