Clean Creatives

🤨 “Why would a company, when it literally can’t sell you anything, be making an ad in a large consumer setting?” ICYMI, this is what David Schechter asked during a recent segment on CBS News, starring Clean Creatives’ very own Executive Director, Duncan Meisel. The answer? Fossil fuel advertisements are like lobbying in public. They distract consumers from the reality that oil and gas giants are continuing to pump more and more money into fossil fuel projects despite our urgent need for an energy transition. But it doesn’t have to be this way. You can learn more about why we convinced 1,300 ad firms to say no to fossil fuel clients at cleancreatives.org Watch the full-length report by CBS News: https://lnkd.in/d5MiQupN  #CBS #CBSNews #Sustainability #Advertising #ClimateChange #EnergyTransfer #Greenwashing

This week, the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority ruled to BAN a TotalEnergies ad for being misleading. Who was behind the ad? NBCUniversal Catalyst The ad ran on X and the ASA ruled that “the ad’s caption alone created the impression that TotalEnergies’ business activities were predominately focused on the development of renewable energies”. TotalEnergies estimates for 85% of its energy sales to come from oil and gas by 2030 but the ad’s focus on its wind energy company, NASH Renewables GmbH, would have you thinking otherwise. NBC has been working with TotalEnergies for 5 seasons of ‘The Road to Carbon Neutral’ — more seasons than some of your favourite sitcoms. Agencies like NBC Catalyst can say no to working on campaigns that risk being banned by signing the Clean Creatives Pledge ✍️ ℹ️Learn more at Adfree Cities about the ad they reported and which ads didn’t get banned: https://lnkd.in/eirCfxah 

📣 Feeling ready to call out greenwashing in the Ad & PR industry? We have a workshop just for you! Join us NEXT WEEK for a FREE 1 hour workshop on how to speak up and push back 👇 Join Ellana Sloan (Associate Strategy Director at the community), Nate Smith (Activist & Founding Director at 6th Fest) and Drew Solomon (Strategic Advisor for Clean Creatives) to build your confidence in calling BS out, whether it’s a questionable brief, a panel discussion, or a corporate statement quietly disappearing. You’ll learn real strategies to call in, call out, and create learning moments, while protecting yourself and your colleagues and receive coaching from an actor & activist on how to use your voice, tone, and presence effectively. 🔗Register for the online session at https://lnkd.in/eVKhiA6k 🔴Can’t make it? Don’t worry, if you’re registered, we’ll send you a recording. ♻️ Share this post with your network or any colleagues who want to take action with you!

Did you know that 96% of over 2000 fossil fuel ads aired during live sports were in and around national college football and basketball games, according to CBS News. Why are big polluters doing this? Our very own Executive Director, Duncan Meisel, spoke to David Schechter, breaking down the “whys” behind this surprising percentage. Speaking to why fossil fuel companies like @energytransferlp advertise during sports coverage, Duncan mentioned, "I think it gets to the heart of a lot of fossil fuel advertising, which is essentially lobbying in public.” 🙌 Thanks to CBS News for highlighting the issue of fossil fuel advertising on a wider scale. Watch the full report here - https://lnkd.in/d5MiQupN 

🇫🇷 Headed to ChangeNOW in Paris later this month? Be sure to add our Parisian gathering to your conference calendar! Make friends to explore the ChangeNOW Summit with and learn more about what it means to sign the Clean Creatives pledge and become part of our growing global movement. 🍷 First drinks are on us! You’ll be joined alongside our co-hosts: 🔵 Alex Holliman, Managing Director of Climbing Trees 🔵 Suzie Mills, CEO & Founder at Oxygen Communications Ltd 🔵 Mathilde Serrero and Hanh line Chastant, Founders at sharpbrands 🔵 Megan Thudium, Managing Director of Content For Good & Co. (formerly: MTC) 🔗 RSVP as soon as possible - seats are limited: https://lnkd.in/eKBbfNgv 

🏓🥛Sitting 5 deep on ping pong tables? More milk than seats? 🏓🥛 We’ve seen the WPP return to office news too, which is why Clean Creatives would like to cordially invite you to our ~SPECIAL~ happy hour 🔜 WPP: Want Ping Pong? A happy hour with Clean Creatives on Wednesday, April 9th from 5:30 - 7:30pm at Clinton Hall, just up the street from WPP HQ’s NYC offices. We know they like you staying close by. 😉 Get some out of office time to get some space, talk about RTO, why you don’t want to work on fossil fuel clients, and the mystery of the milk fridge. 🍻 Drinks, 🥨 snacks, and 🥛 milk (we won’t judge!) are on us. RSVP today - https://lnkd.in/eMTHP7nK

📰 Here’s how Omnicom & dentsu’s client, Eni, used greenwashing to generate BILLIONS of investments in fossil fuels with misleading ad campaigns. As the world’s 13th largest fossil fuel company, Eni, promoted ‘Sustainability-Linked Bonds’ across major newspaper outlets in Italy, despite the bonds having no requirement to be used for environmental projects, allowing Eni to use the money for fossil-fuel production. 6 (yes, you read that correctly! 6) different Ad & PR agencies in 2023-2024 had Eni as a client, including Omnicom’s TBWA\Italia, dentsu’s Carat, Accenture Song, M+C Saatchi Group, CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati & NOVE And here’s an important fact: 💰The campaign was so successful that Eni’s bonds “could have invested €1.68 billion in business as usual, i.e. in oil and gas activities”. Instead of working with the world's biggest polluters to mislead the public on how the oil and gas industry is leading the transition, Ad & PR agencies like the ones working for Eni, can say no to ever working with fossil fuel clients again. 🔗 Read the full story by Voxeurop: https://lnkd.in/e8rzCK-s 

🎯 Calling all creatives! Ready to take a stand and shape the future of advertising? Join us for an exciting event - Unpitch Fossil Fuels: A Creative Challenge for the Planet. It will be a hands-on competition where teams will concept bold social campaigns to persuade indie agencies to sign the Clean Creatives pledge. This isn’t your typical networking event. It’s a chance to flex your skills, work alongside top creatives from pledge-signed agencies, and pitch ideas that might actually be produced. You’ll work in teams to respond to a real brief, with support from: ✔️ Rachel Brandt, Managing Partner, Co-Founder of Corner Table Creative ✔️ Joe Burns, Strategy Lead at Quality Meats Creative ✔️ Tom Christmann, Partner at TiNY ✔️ Brad Jones, Executive Creative Director at Mojo Supermarket ✔️ Phil Levine, Strategy Director at Terri & Sandy ✔️ Madeline Meade, Chief Creative Officer, Co-founder of Corner Table Creative ✔️ Joe Meier, Associate Creative Director at Tombras ✔️ Casey Rand, Executive Creative Director, Founder of Gooder 🗓️ Saturday, April 26 📍 W. 30th & 7th, NYC (exact location shared after approval) ⏰ 12:30–4:30 PM (doors open at noon) 🚨 Apply by submitting 1.) a link to your portfolio or LinkedIn 2.) a short response (100 words or less) to “Why do you want to be here and "unpitch" fossil fuels?” Apply and RSVP today! https://lnkd.in/eP4kFNUZ  Spots are limited!

In a late-breaking DeSmog exclusive, it was revealed that WPP has shut down their sustainability-focused agency AKQA Bloom which was launched just three years ago. The shocking closure is reportedly tied to the agency’s declining revenues and a renewed focus on other clients - including increasing fossil fuel billings - to support their balance sheet. WPP, which already holds more fossil fuel contracts than any of its major competitors including Shell, bp, and Saudi aramco, appears to be doubling down on profits. It’s hard for a sustainability agency to thrive in a holding company that is so committed to fossil fuels. Clients with serious sustainability agendas are not lining up to work with agencies with deep ties to polluters like BP and Aramco. There’s no other way around it - this dissolution signals a clear deprioritization of climate-conscious work at WPP, backtracking on a bold statement they made in their 2023 annual report - a guarantee to not take on client work, “designed to frustrate the objectives of the Paris [climate] Agreement”. Read more about the closure here:  🔗 https://lnkd.in/g8PJZFEW 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eWe9Vi_m

🇿🇦 Clean Creatives South Africa recently hosted a jam-packed Climate Mixer in Cape Town. Here’s a re-cap 📸 They organized a panel that included 🖖🏼 Jarred Cinman (VML South Africa), Bradly Howland (Alkemi Collective), Tom Fels (animarem), Lazola Kati (Fossil Free South Africa), Ronell (로넬) Swartbooi (Voxeon Communications), Annelie Maré (Plentify), Emma King (The Friday Street Club), Stephen Horn (Clean Creatives South Africa) and moderator Lester Kiewit Please give Clean Creatives South Africa a follow (https://lnkd.in/ezKUNi9W), and keep an eye out for even more upcoming Clean Creative events like this across the globe.