Shell Oil Told To Take It Down
July 9, 2007
The Dutch Advertising Authority has accepted a complaint against Shell Oil Company for an advertisement that claims that Shell uses its waste to grow flowers. Ha-hahahahaha! Come on… really? The print ad (see below), which appeared in the newspapers and magazines in the Netherlands in April/May of 2007 show a refinery chimney blowing out flowers instead of smoke. Friends of the Earth, a Dutch green, filed the complaint. Read the details here
Paul De Clerk, a Friends of the Earth spokesman, said: “Shell is one of the world’s dirtiest companies. People living next door to Shell’s refineries around the world can vouch for that. Shell should spend money cleaning up its mess, not on deceiving the public with expensive dishonest adverts….”
Shell should stick to the film/ad series that were “inspired” by Shell employees. Take for example the one above focusing on Shell’s innovation and technology with the underlying message of – “No fear. We’ll keep finding oil no matter what is happening to Mother Earth.” Okay, not the best way to endear yourself to the general public, but, hey Shell? If you’re not really going to go green, don’t push the line. It just makes consumers distrust, if not totally hate you. Duh.
More: A whole city bans ads.
And… Xbox gets shut down, too.
