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Whilst everyone else cheered for the football, the Adfree Cities team were glued to our seats watching UN secretary general Antonio Guterres drop the mic on fossil fuels advertising. More on this below, along with our latest campaigns involving Wimbledon and the RSPCA.
With the election fast approaching don’t forget to email your current or prospective MP asking them to support a high carbon ad ban, ending ads for the most polluting products including fossil fuels, flights, non-electric cars and meat and dairy.
UN Chief backs high carbon ad ban
Earlier this month, in an address to mark World Environment Day, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres directly challenged fossil fuel companies and the advertising agencies who promote them.
Calling oil and gas giants ‘the Godfathers of Climate Chaos’ and the agencies who promote their lies and greenwash ‘Mad Men fuelling the madness’ he backed the call for the world to stop promoting its own destruction and called on all nations to introduce a tobacco-style ban on fossil fuel adverts.
This marks the highest profile support for a high carbon ad ban that we’ve ever seen. It’s proof that the work of Adfree Cities and the Adblock network is crucial for a liveable future. You can take action now in support of a high carbon ad ban by writing to your (existing or prospective) MP using the button below.
Drop SUV sponsorship of Wimbledon, say campaigners
On a very hot June afternoon, Adfree Cities joined friends from the Road Danger Reduction Forum to deliver a letter to the Wimbledon organising committee asking that they drop Range Rover as the official vehicle of the tournament and end their sponsorship deal with Jaguar Land Rover (JLR).
The letter was co-signed by leading campaign groups including Mums for Lungs, Clean Cities Campaign, Campaign for Better Transport, Badvertising, New Weather Institute, and Transport Action Network – and was covered in the South London Press.
In the letter we request that the Wimbledon committee – known as the AELTC – in future go to greater lengths to support the transport of players, their teams and event officials by healthier and sustainable means, and refuse to enter into sponsorship deals that promote SUVs.
Bristol is better without billboards
Fantastic news from Bristol where two long-standing billboards on North Street Green, a public green space in south Bristol, were removed following a lengthy campaign.
Led by Adblock Bristol, residents, businesses and local councillors voiced their opposition to the billboards, signed a petition and contributed to an online survey on how they feel about their local green, and what they would like to see there.
As the icing on the cake, as part of the annual street art festival Upfest, the former ad site was adorned with stunning, colourful artworks from HASS and Tozer Signs. Talk about turning ad space into art space!
The Adfree Cities podcast is now live!
Adfree Cities has a podcast! Better Without Billboards brings you monthly episodes exploring the weird world of outdoor advertising and the wonderful people fighting to reduce its presence on our streets.
Episode 1 casts us back to the launch of our first-of-its-kind research on outdoor advertising and inequality. Adfree’s James and Nicola chew over the flaws in current planning rules and how we might fix them. We even have a short interview with special guest Green party leader and parliamentary candidate Carla Denyer.
You can find Better Without Billboards episode 1 now on Acast and Spotify and don’t forget to like, share and follow.
RSPCA ads reported to the watchdog
A new series of ads for the RSPCA shows farm animals running free to the tune of Aretha Franklin’s ‘Respect’. But the ads fail to mention how the RSPCA – via its Assured scheme – certifies farming methods that routinely expose animals to cruelty, neglect and harm.
A shocking new expose by Animal Rising shows the extent to which the RSCPA’s ads risk misleading the public about the charity’s mission to protect all animals. Given these facts, we’ve reported the RSPCA to the ad watchdog for potentially misleading advertising.
Staff picks
A selection of recommendations from the Adfree team of things to read, do or listen to that explore the wider issues of harmful advertising.
This recent episode of the Public Art and the Economics of Imagination podcast looks at what we mean by public art, what qualifies and public art, and the role of art in public space. Listen to the episode here.
A recent project in Shipley asked what would happen if toddlers were at the heart of urban design. The results? Toddler towns are joyful, safer and more open to all. Read more about the experiments here.
Public health experts around the world are zeroing in on the ad industry for promoting unhealthy products like junk food and fossil fuels. Tobacco, alcohol, ultra-processed foods and fossil fuels kill 2.7 million people a year in Europe, according to a new WHO report, while the corporations selling these products hide behind marketing and PR. Read more here
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