The Trop Debate: Really?

Recently we posted on Tropicana's new packaging and sustainability messaging. Tropicana, and its parent company Pepsico, have finally started looking at the carbon impact of its supply chain in earnest; as well as launched a new rainforest protection program.

Our post (as always) was intended to highlight a movement by a major brand and spark some debate. And there indeed was debate about the new Tropicana. But not about the relative merit of a sustainability program, or the value of transparency, but about the look of the new carton.

If you haven't followed the story, here's an article from the New York Times (yes, really!). In short, outraged consumers flooded the social media sites, fueled the press and forced Tropicana to return to the old carton. As a marketer, I'm reminded that brands aren't really owned by companies anymore: they belong to the consumer. As a Sustainability marketer, I'm reminded how emotional (and uneasy) people are about change, and how we more often look backward than forward.

So now I have a new gold standard to compare our sustainability communications efforts: a carton of juice. If people care as much about what's in the carton (or how the carton got to the store in the first place) as what's printed on the outside, we all win.

Rage on!

Franklin, Farmers and the Back Nine: The Lore of DST.

Tomorrow in most states in the U.S. and in many countries around the world, we set our clocks back an hour. Daylight Savings Time is over, the dark commute home is upon us.

DST is said to help farmers (it doesn't), boost the economy (it does help retailers a bit), and promote better health (no evidence, although it does seem to make us feel good).

It is said to have been the idea of Benjamin "Early to Bed, Early to Rise" Franklin (nope). It was William Willett, the English builder and outdoorsman, who first proposed DST in 1905. He noticed many Londoners were oversleeping in the summer. But more importantly (he thought), as an avid golfer, he was frustrated when the sun would set before he could finish 18 holes. Now that's motivation. But few others got behind such a change.

It was WWI that finally got many countries—and the U.S.—to approve daylight savings time. Why? It was thought to reduce the demand for coal, during times of shortages. And it did. It was a sustainability initiative: find a wide-reaching way to reduce the need for scarce resources without harming the ability of society and the economy to prosper.

It took heavy marketing to get and keep it passed. Convincing farmers it would help them, getting corporations to lobby for it (Clorox and 7-Eleven ran major efforts to re-confirm DST in the 80's). And while it no longer provides much benefit, as energy consumption patters have changed, it has become the new normal.

So let's use the extra hour this year to think harder. Or play golf. Maybe another Willett is out there on the back nine.

The United Nations and Divided Agencies

Earlier this week, along with several others from the advertising industry, I was called to the United Nations to meet with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Michael Lee with the International Advertising Association brokered the meeting.

AD WEEK: "IAA, UN Officials Meet on Climate Change"

Ban has made Climate Change a UN priority, leading up to Copenhagen in 2009 where the world community hopes to forge the “next Kyoto Protocol.” But he needs help. What can a bunch of advertising suits do to help? Ban thinks we can persuade policy makers, corporations and citizens to align around a common goal. And indeed, communications is a powerful tool.

I, for one, am on board. I've maintained that strategic communications can play an important role in creating prosperity for all. It keeps me pushing harder, not settling for lame ads, and gets me out of bed each morning.

Yes, I hear the snicker. And I get that asking a bunch of ad guys to collaborate is a bit like the fox and the hen house. Our industry is not known for coming together for a bigger cause. Or really for anything. Thank goodness the Ad Council has a seat at this table.

But maybe this is the time. This cause is our cause. This project proves prosperity for one is prosperity for all. Maybe.

I, for one, am on board.

Facebook Energy

I spent too much time on Facebook this weekend. Who's doing what? Following the debate on the debate... the usual stuff.

But it seemed the chatter on Facebook was higher than usual. Was there bad weather this weekend? Are people actually taking ABC's "National Stay at Home Week" to heart and watching the latest (un)reality TV shows? ABC even suggest this is good for the environment and the economy: Stay home, save gas.




Hmmm. Maybe they hit on something. Here are a few comments on Facebook from my usually "on-the-go" friends:

"Pretty crazy. There is some gas to be found, but the wait has been long. Yesterday I went to 5 stations close to my house and none had gas. Luckily the one I went to today had people directing traffic in and out and they were doing a good job moving people through. People are running out of gas looking for gas!"

"Melissa is staying at home because there is no gas!"

"Jackie is stranded at home this weekend with a quarter of a tank of gas and tapped out gas stations in Atlanta."

"I hear that...I had actual PLANS tonight...have to choose...social, tennis match tomorrow, work next week? Still up for debate."


Now there are lots of insights I could offer, all of which are immediately apparent: The power of social networks like Facebook to make problems instantly shared and global. The psychological impact of perceived shortages (think bread line references all week by the candidates). The lack of back-ups to automobiles in fast-growing "modern" cities like Charlotte and Atlanta, which have woeful public transportation systems. How marketing ideas like ABC's always benefit from good (or bad) timing.

For now, I leave you only with the image below and the reminder that we can't wait another thirty years to address the same issue.

Save the Polar Bears

Recently Ogilvy, in partnership with The Ad Council, produced a new PSA and viral video for The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).

This work urges Americans to take advantage of mass transit to help fight global warming.

We think it's powerful imagery. We hope it works.

Check out the spot and be sure to visit http://www.fightglobalwarming.com/

Latest in Eco-Chic

We love to see small business embrace sustainability. Because as much impact as the Fortune 500's have, small businesses— from tech start ups to the dry cleaner around the corner— is where change happens fastest.

So while on vacation on Nantucket, I was excited to watch an eco-business taking off. It's one-part vacation activity, one-part sustainable product line and one-part eco-branding. Confused?

Meet Cheryl Fudge. Cheryl's background is in fashion design. After leaving Manhattan's runways for ACK (Nantucket's airport code), she started a company that salvages unique vintage clothing, patches, upholstery material and hip T-shirts, all with a local Nantucket connection (think whale prints and "Nantucket Reds"). She then turns them into fashionable, one-of-a-kind clothes. Everything from jeans to a formal gown made from drapes found in one of Nantucket's oldest Captain's Houses. No new materials, no waste. The poster-child for reuse, recycle. She also has a "Fashion Camp" where island visitors design their own wearable art, which Cheryl's staff then sews overnight. She's booked solid during the "high season."

But it doesn't stop there. Cheryl and partner Hays Westbrook, have trademarked the term "ACK Green" (I wasn't just sharing the airport code to be clever) and created a robust line of products under the brand. Water bottles, T-shirts, stickers, patches, etc. Everything is produced with sustainability in mind, and the brand has become an instant hit with islanders and tourists alike.

It goes to show that movements can be branded. And they can start small and local. After all, (Red) had mixed results, but ACK Green has something (Red) didn't— the big dreams of a small business entrepreneur.

CherylFudge.com

The Sport of Sustainability

Few things in life bring people together like sporting events. And recently, sustainability has been getting into the game. The Olympics, U.S. Open Tennis. Even the sport of politics, with the Democratic Convention. Sports teams and events are getting greener.

One of the first—and best known—is the Philadelphia Eagles. Its stadium is the benchmark for green arenas, with sophisticated energy and waste reduction systems. The NFL team has also made it their mission, adopting a forest to off-set the inevitable carbon emitted by flying around big guys on big planes for every Sunday.

Of course, even the Eagles can get, um, a bit carried away....

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paige-donner/greening-hollywood-nfl-ea_b_115138.html

Here's what a few others are doing:

Major League Baseball. MLB partnered with the NRDC to launch the "Team Greening Program" which promote sustainability across all of the teams. This season, you can expect to see robust recycling programs at the stadiums, solar-powered scoreboards, as well as material and information in the stadiums to encourage fans to go green.

http://www.nrdc.org/media/2008/080317.asp

Motorsport Racing. Even the worst of the gas-guzzlers have caught on to the green movement, as race cars like the Corvette Z06 E85 (as in Ethanol E85). In the 2009 Dakar Rally, keep a look out for the Kenya Kwanza team of Glen Edmunds, who will be running a sustainable bio-diesel to raise awareness of climate change.

http://www.ewire.com/display.cfm/Wire_ID/4965

New Jersey Nets. A slam dunk-- the Nets are way ahead in the green game. They are the first carbon-neutral team in the NBA. Our favorite part of the site, check out the video on the right hand side. It features one of the official team dancers shares the Nets visions with fans.

http://netsgogreen.com/

Shea Stadium. And in our hometown, New York's new stadium is going green.

http://www.observer.com/2008/new-shea-stadium-goes-green-what-does-it-mean

With tens of thousands of people attending these events every day, the impact is substantial. Of course, getting to the new "green stadiums" is usually the least sustainable part of the event.

Green Olympic Games

Last week, the 2008 Summer Olympics kicked off with a bang. It's a rare opportunity for people from all walks of life to turn their televisions on and enjoy true world class competition. And some of the largest global corporations have spent over a billion dollars to grab the attention of these 30 million prime time viewers each night.

The focus of their ads? Sustainability. Needless to say, we're happy to see this.

Over the next thirteen days, we will be posting some of these ads, sharing our thoughts and hoping you will share yours.

First up, The Alliance for Climate Protection's WE campaign. Their latest ad encourages us to move to "clean" electricity. Of course, we applaud all of Gore's efforts in the fight against global warming, but wonder if the campaign gives people the chance to take action?

Yes, the ad sends the viewers to wecansolveit.org, where individuals are encouraged to write their local and state politicians and ask for change. But we wonder...

Did it miss an opportunity to inspire individuals to make changes to their daily lives?

What do you think? Chime in.

Thoughtful Committed Citizens

Welcome to The Greenery-- global advertising agency Ogilvy's sustainability practice area.

The Greenery is a group of like-minded Ogilvy New York employees who found each other in early 2007. Uneasy with the state of the environment, keen to make a change, and sensing an opportunity, we banded together to do two things: Change Ogilvy, and help our clients change the world.

On the Ogilvy front, The Greenery has begun resizing our own carbon footprint and making Ogilvy a healthier and more eco-friendly place to work. (Rule #1 of green marketing is to get your own house in order.) We're excited to have all our employees join us in our ongoing bid to make Ogilvy the most sustainable company we can be.

But our ambitions go beyond our own front door. We believe sustainability is the business opportunity of the 21st century, and we sensed a huge appetite to address it from our clients. Thanks to our work with visionary clients like BP, DuPont, Unilever, Kraft, IBM, Cisco and The Economist, Ogilvy has been involved with sustainability marketing for close to a decade.

The Greenery set out to consolidate everything we've learned about green marketing and to create a model that will allow us to do some amazing things. We call it The Greenery Lab: a network of the world's leading thinkers on sustainability who we call on to help us incubate revolutionary ideas and develop new answers for clients.

As anthropologist Margaret Meade said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

To learn more about Ogilvy's The Greenery, keep checking this space or contact us at thegreenery@ogilvy.com