for happier, healthier cities
Advertising has become normalised in our children’s lives, on screens, in the media and on our streets. With our new Adspotters on the School Run project, we’re asking you to capture the ads you see on your way to or from school, and talk to children about ads in their lives. But why is this…Continue reading Is advertising consuming childhood?
In this guest blog, part of the Bad Publicity series, Dr Simon Mair from the university of York examines the role advertising plays in normalising and reproducing the cycle of capitalist Growth that drives ecological destruction. He ends with a call to reimagine advertising as something more than a tool of consumerism. …Continue reading The commodification of life itself: how advertising promotes endless growth, and how it could be otherwise
A Big (Mac) problem Junk food advertising is big business. Between 2022 and 2023, McDonald’s, Coca Cola, KFC and Pepsi alone spent £168 million on outdoor advertising promoting junk food. Despite the health dangers posed by foods high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) being increasingly flagged by health professionals and policy makers, ads for…Continue reading Junk food advertising
Aviation emissions are deeply unequal In many ways, the global aviation industry epitomises the injustice of the climate crisis. Ads for cheap flights idealise a jet-set lifestyle whilst hiding the impact that emissions from aviation are having around the world. Meanwhile, private jet companies seek a new clientele with the promise of luxury, at the…Continue reading Aviation advertising
A social and environmental disaster The use of vapes (or e-cigarettes) has exploded in recent years with over 4 million people regularly using them. Although potentially useful as an aid to quit smoking, the sheer scale of vape use – especially of disposable vapes – and the speed with which it has grown has created…Continue reading Vape advertising
Licence to pollute We are all by now aware of the role fossil fuel companies play in driving the climate crisis. However, what is sometimes overlooked is the ability oil and gas companies have to continue operating despite massive public opposition to what they do. This is what’s known as social licence, and it comes…Continue reading Big Oil Greenwash