17263: On Turtles & Tossers.

 

Oh, look! Another contrived environmental protection campaign starring victimized sea turtles. Somebody should’ve tossed it in the initial concept stage.

17035: Global Garbage From Smiling Scambags.

 

This Smyle Toothpaste Tablets campaign from Fitzroy in the Netherlands takes the plastic stuff kills wildlife clichés to a deeper level, further polluting the media landscape—as well as swimming into copyright and trademark infringement.

16626: Bugged By Sustainability.

Adweek published a report from its sustainability editor with a headline declaring, “Most of Adland Is Crickets on Climate.” A subhead claimed, “Greenwashing regulations and activism could make way for higher industry standards.”

 

The content quoted an executive recruiter who stated, “We are seeing some disappointing trends” around sustainability and DEIBA+.

 

The aforementioned items alone warrant color commentary.

 

Adland may be crickets on climate. However, Adland is cicadas on cultural cluelessness—swarms singing songs of systemic racism.

 

 

There will be greenwashing regulations. However, there will be no Whitewashing regulations to monitor, manage, and mandate DEIBA+ progress. Whitewashing, incidentally, trumps every color in the spectrum.

 

Any disappointing trends around sustainability cannot match the sustaining status quo in exclusive Adland. There’s far greater advocacy for initiatives involving plastic vs people of color.

 

On a closing note, it’s interesting that Adweek has a sustainability editor, yet no designated diversity editor. Such a role is probably delegated to a resident scribe of color or outsourced on an ad hoc basis, when necessary; ie, during Black History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, etc.

16617: Adland Schedules Support For Earth Day 2024.

 

The Earth Day 2024 Global Theme—brought to you by EarthDay.org—is Planet vs. Plastics. In defense of humanity and planetary health, the environmental advocacy group presents 60X40, calling for a 60% cutback in all plastic production by 2040.

 

It’s a safe bet that Adland will be all in—and go all out—to make it happen. Hell, the campaigns have already been done to death—as in the plastic-perpetrated death of dolphins, whales, seals, pelicans, seagulls, and turtles. The latest theme will undoubtedly inspire more scammy concepts.

 

Adland is always eager to support performative, propagandistic causes, and even set firm timetables for completion. Yet for diversity deadlines—like No.2.66—it’s okay to dawdle, delay, and drag one’s feet.

 

All of which helps Adland maintain its status as one of the most exclusively racist industries on earth.

16188: Celebrating Earth Day In Adland.

 

The theme for Earth Day 2023: Invest In Our Planet. Appropriately enough, it’s a recycle of the 2022 theme.

 

In Adland, there will undoubtedly be significant investment in promotional advertising campaigns for all forms of sustainability—especially in the plastic-kills-wildlife category.

 

Indeed, sustainability has leapfrogged racial and ethnic diversity in terms of awareness, commitment, and action.

 

Invest In Our Planet trumps Invest In Our People—and the people who inhabited parts of the planet pre-colonization, well, never mind.

 

16180: For Scam Campaigns, Plastic Is Fantastic.

 

Gee, it’s only a matter of time before plastic-kills-wildlife advertising gets its own category in award shows. Although it would be interesting to see how many of these campaigns are not scam ads.

 

16069: Stuffing Garbage Into Student Portfolios.

 

This Ocean Conservancy campaign was created by a student from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. Why would an ad school instructor let students generate clichéd concepts in a contrived and cluttered category? Talk about trashing the talent pool—and awarding diplomas that are worthless garbage.

15534: Vaccinated And Not Vaccinated Agree, This Campaign Sucks.

 

Yep, called this contrived COVID-19 crap over a year ago…

 

15512: Sorry, Charlie, This Campaign Sucks.

 

The Egyptian creative team responsible for this plastic-kills-wildlife campaign should be canned.

 

15413: Unable To Think Outside The Cage…?

 

Yet another plastic-kills-wildlife campaign from Colombia shows that creative teams are increasingly trapped in contrived clichés.

 

15385: Oh My Stars, This Campaign Sucks!

 

BBDO in New Zealand created this WWF campaign that proclaims microplastics in the ocean outnumber stars in the galaxy. Hey, there are more lame plastic-kills-wildlife advertisements than stars in the galaxy too.

15363: CSI—Egypt.

 

This Egyptian plastic-straws-kill-wildlife campaign is a creative CSI: crime scene idiocy.

 

15353: No Turtles Were Harmed In The Creation Of This Ad.

The plastic-kills-wildlife campaigns really target turtles. Maybe it’s time to call in some super-powered help.

 

15188: Corona Puts The Con In Conservation.

Corona is committed to wildlife. And wild life.

15176: Greenpeace Campaign Bombs.

Greenpeace takes its plastic-kills-wildlife campaign to the extreme—extremely awful, that is. The reason for the awfulness can only be explained by noting the work is extremely Argentinian.

15059: Coronavirus Advertising Pandemic Spreads To Oceans.

Saw this notion coming from 19 kilometers away.

14980: Plastic Protest Propaganda Proliferates To Pandemic Proportions.

At some point, the hacks producing plastic-kills-wildlife campaigns will shift to COVID-19 campaigns. Looking forward to advertisements protesting plastic masks.

14972: More Anti-Straws Advertisements That Suck.

Taking a break from all the clichéd COVID-19 campaigns to cover clichéd plastic-straws-kill-wildlife campaigns.