Spoof public health campaign calls for SUV ad ban
Badvertising has put out a two-minute animation, published a car mag and running AI-generated out-of-home ads.
Climate campaign group Badvertising, which challenges fossil fuel advertisers, has released a tongue-in-cheek campaign as part of its rallying cry for a tobacco-style ban on advertising SUVs.
‘Carwash’ is a spoof public health message from the ‘Ministry of Climate Emergency’ explaining that car advertisers are brainwashing the public into thinking they need bigger cars. The campaign then claims that it is not only dumb to own a car that doesn’t fit on city streets or in the average car parking space but that SUVs, on average, produce 20% more CO2 emissions than conventional cars.
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The spot was released in response to a referendum in Paris that introduced higher parking fees for SUVs as a way to crack down on their usage in the French capital.
Along with the two-minute-long film, the campaign is supported by a spoof motoring magazine and out-of-home billboards ads. Open source assets have also been made available for campaigners to access.
Badvertising is run by New Weather Institute, Possible and Adfree Cities as a tactic to end advertising and sponsorship that fuel the climate crisis. The Ministry of Climate Emergency is a long-running campaign from Badvertising, with previous ads warning people about aviation advertising.