http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/06/17/business/ad18.php

Advertising: Al Gore finds friends at a Cannes ad festival


Al Gore will get a spotlight at Cannes.

By Eric Pfanner
Sunday, June 17, 2007

LONDON: The brightest lights in the advertising business are gathering in Cannes this week for an annual celebration of the art of persuading consumers to part with their money. In the industry's biggest international get-together, awards will be handed out for the best ads for everything from cars to clothing, from food to flights.

And then, Friday, Al Gore will come to town.

Gore is set to address the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival as part of the lead-in to the Live Earth concerts on July 7, which are intended to raise awareness of the climate change issue.

You might think that Gore and his campaign against global warming would find few friends in Cannes. The production, transport, sale and consumption of goods and services surely add a few sizes to anyone's carbon footprint, no?

Yet Gore is being accorded rock star status at the advertising festival, an event that in the past has been headlined by industry insiders. Because of "exceptional" interest, the organizers announced last week, his appearance has been moved to a larger auditorium. The embrace of Gore shows how "green" advertising has galvanized the marketing community.

"The consumer sentiment out there is just palpable," said Hamish McLennan, chief executive of Young & Rubicam, the advertising agency that arranged Gore's visit to Cannes and helped him develop the "S.O.S.," or "Save Our Selves" campaign for environmental awareness.

"We have to change the way people consume and get people to think about it," McLennan added. "From a Y&R perspective, we wanted to take a leadership role on this."

Not long ago, it seemed, only oil companies touted their green credentials via big-budget ad campaigns. But now green advertising is everywhere.

Even as creative types were packing their bags for Cannes, MTV last week was unveiling its latest public-service ad campaign, aimed at promoting "environmentally friendly lifestyle choices among youth in order to reduce the carbon emissions that contribute to climate change."

The ads, created by six ad agencies - 180 Los Angeles, Cake, Lowe Worldwide, Ogilvy, Wieden + Kennedy 12 and Young & Rubicam - will be shown in 162 countries.

The Web site for the campaign, called Switch, shows how the green movement has gone mainstream.

"OK, so we like to consume," it says. "That's fine."

"Switch isn't here to tell you to start hugging trees and become an eco warrior - although it's fine, if that's what you're into. Nah, all we're here to do is ask you to make little changes to the way you consume."

The idea that consumers can continue to consume, making only tiny changes in their behavior, is obviously attractive to marketers, too. Not only can they keep promoting consumption, they can turn greenness into a selling point.

Indeed, more and more marketers are building a green element into their own brand story, not just generically promoting awareness of climate change through public service campaigns.

Are consumers getting a clear message?

A recent survey by Landor Associates, a branding and design consultant, suggested that in Britain, at least, all this greenness may be sowing some confusion. The study asked consumers to rank eight industry sectors according to how "green" they are. The travel industry came in last; energy also fared relatively poorly, placing fifth.

Nonetheless, when respondents were asked to name Britain's greenest brands, an airline, Virgin Atlantic, and the oil companies BP and Shell all made it into the top 20.

With Gore speaking and the June sun beating down on the thousands of advertising executives from all over the world who will mingle along the Croisette, global warming is likely to be near the top of the agenda this week in Cannes.

In other words, you can bet that a few more brands will be flaunting their green credentials over the coming year.

Eric Pfanner can be reached at adcol@iht.com

My father is a big-wig in the advertising world (he's the acknowledged "father of direct marketing"). He has a house in the south of France, a bit north of Cannes, so he's there now for this event, and he e-mailed me this morning to tell me that he'll be introduced to Gore later today and will invite him back up to the house. I'm sure he won't take him up on it, but it's pretty cool. And of course, we visited my father in France last summer. Why couldn't it have been this summer? Can you imagine how cool it would be to sit around the pool with Al in the south of France? :lol:

Ok Karen, now you have me eating my own heart...

so so jealous :)


Do you think your father may get some inside info on "the big question". ? And do you think if so, you'll be able to share with us?

Dear Karen,

We also live in southern France in Menton on the border of Italy and France near Monaco. What city does your father live in? Ironically, one of the reasons we are back in the states now, earlier than usual, is because of our interest in working for Democrats, esp. Al Gore.

Dan

I would guess your father could not have the opportunity to meet Al Gore without mentioning his daughter and a certain cause that so strongly motivates her. Ya think? :D

So Earthmother, any word?

Did your father actually get to meet Al Gore?

Haven't heard from him today, which leads me to believe nothing momentous occurred. :rolleyes: