The Power of Words
The 1950s, advertising was a simple yet powerful tool for influencing people's opinions and desires. This is not just a Unlike today, the market was less fragmented, and people would read newspapers during their commute instead of scrolling through their smartphones. Back then people would actually watch ads instead of fast-forwarding through them, and families would gather around the TV or dinner table, making watching TV a shared experience.
Back then companies had positive and engaging storylines, aiming to build dreams and create desire. Coca-Cola's 1971 Hilltop ad, was iconic - the brand never mentioned the product, instead sold joy and happiness of diverse young people singing together about a positive future. Coca-Cola is still today in the 10 most recognised brands in the world.
What does the sustainability movement can learn from Coca-Cola? According to Susan McPherson, author, founder, and CEO of McPherson Strategies, an impact communication agency, humans are wired to run away from fear rather than face it. Ten years ago, she said, Senator James Inhofe used a snowball in the US Senate to claim that there was no global warming.
The narrative around climate change portrayed a sense of doom, with expectations of chaos, floods, disasters, and a global catastrophe in real-time. However, instead of these dramatic events, we have witnessed smaller episodes happening across the globe, making it hard for most people to connect them to the larger problem. For instance, why would a flood in London and a fire in Spain be part of the same issue? As a result, when people couldn't relate the storytelling about climate change to their own personal experiences, some of them tuned off.
What we have overlooked in the narrative of climate change, and what we are about to miss in the net zero narrative, is the connection with the audience. There is nothing positive about climate change, but there is hope on finding a solution and we can lean into sustainability innovation to do so. Companies working hard to bring about change struggle to communicate why their efforts truly make a difference in terms that everyone can understand - this is why #greenhushing has become a thing.
In the current media landscape, brands are increasingly leaning towards lighthearted and humorous content. Examples include Aura Bora's hilarious take on "new products," Loewe's entertaining spelling bee, Sol De Janeiro's fun sunscreen launch with comedian Jake Shane. SpinDrift's true crime show and Sergio Tacchini's safer approach also provide good examples. Humor can be challenging for brands to pull off, requiring the hiring of talented writers. However, the effort is well worth it.
We have time, to change the climate narrative. I’m not suggested to ignore the problem, but to focus on how exciting and rewarding will be to reimagine the future, focusing on innovation, progress and possibility.
Words are powerful. They can build or destroy a person or a company’s reputation. Imagine if we use the power of words to instill hope instead of fear and to empower people to work together to find solutions.
I’m as guilty as the many sustainability and climate practitioners that chose fear to wake people up - but now climate change has a bigger advertising budget that the Mission Impossible franchaise. Let tackle climate change but creating the climate for change.
