planes on the brain
ministry for the climate emergency
timeline
2023
location
worldwide
client
New Weather Institute
introduction
A new public health warning from the Ministry for the Climate Emergency about the dangers of brain pollution.
The climate crisis continues to be fuelled by the advertising industry, which drives overconsumption and greenwashes the reputations of fossil fuel companies.
Brain pollution is the effect of advertising on human health and well-being, the choices people make and their consequences. The sophistication of adverts encourages people to prioritise materialistic values and promotes high carbon lifestyles. The brain pollution of advertising has a detrimental impact on people and the climate.
Advertising is everywhere. It is subtle and highly strategic. Success lies in exploiting insecurities and influencing choice, but advertising is regulated by representatives of the advertising industry. Therefore there are no controls on the most damaging forms of advertising for high carbon goods and services, which are promoting the climate crisis.
As holiday seasons mingle with airport chaos, heatwaves and weather extremes, prompting authorities to issue climate health warnings, there are important climate and public health reasons to stop aviation industry adverts fuelling the climate emergency.
the challenge
Bringing a new focus to an existing public information campaign on brain pollution, that resembles an official government campaign, for the fictitious Ministry for the Climate Emergency, in association with badvertising.
Using advertising to tackle the dangers of greenwashing in advertising, with a focus on aviation advertising, and encourage a greater debate surrounding the relationship between advertising and our climate.
our solution
A series of billboards, with a new focus on the aviation industry, which connect aviation advertising to the climate crisis, through brain pollution.
Mock-ups of these billboards, and animations, were used across social media to provide authenticity, supported by a printed alternative travel brochure, filled with information the aviation industry would prefer not to share, for distribution at events.
All communications are endorsed by the fabricated Ministry for the Climate Emergency, and promote the badvertising movement.
Visual identity, messaging and call to action emulate a credible public health campaign.
Campaign activities coincided with the start of the summer holidays, as peak holiday season begins and people jet off for their long anticipated holidays abroad.
Adverts by airline companies are a danger to people’s health and that of our planet.
Ministry for the Climate Emergency
Airline companies continue to promote air travel and holiday destinations with sophisticated ‘greenwashing’ campaigns, designed to influence consumer decision-making and increase passenger numbers, in spite of all climate change warnings and increasing evidence of global warning and it’s catastrophic effects.
“It is a disaster for the climate that just as people had found less polluting ways to enjoy holidays, frequent flying has crept back after being heavily promoted by the airline industry.
“The official, scientific advice to reduce demand for flying is as clear as a blue sky with the contrails removed. People will still be able to fly, but ending airline adverts would be the easiest way to reduce damaging demand, just as we reduced smoking by ending tobacco advertising.”
Andrew Simms, Co-Founder, New Weather Institute
results
The campaign featured in press including Campaign, in their Sustainability News, Articles & Analysis section at Campaignlive UK, The Drum and The Ecologist.
Social media activities were driven by fabricated ‘authentic’ billboard imagery, animations, and media articles, which also directed readers to our resources available at badverts.org
