Ad Environment - Draft 1

The United States spends roughly three-times as much on advertising than any other country and more than China, Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom combined in 2008, according to a recent World Advertising Research Center (WARC) article by Sian Jones. Approximately $158.5 billion was spent by the United States alone on advertising in 2008; combined with China ($57.1 billion), Japan ($41.9 billion), Germany ($28.6 billion) and the United Kingdom ($26.8 billion), these five major players account for roughly two-thirds of the global amount spent on advertising, according to the same release. All of this money is being spent to advertise goods and services but companies are beginning to advertise more than just their products.
Advertising used to be about flaunting a product and persuading consumers to “choose you”; there has been a gradual shift away from changing consumers’ decision to purchase a product and towards changing the way in which consumers view that product (the position that product holds in the consumer’s mind). In keeping with this shift, advertising agencies have begun positioning brands against their competitors as being “greener” or more “environmentally friendly”.
Green marketing has become the recent advertising trend that many companies are looking to jump on the bandwagon for. “Green marketing,” according to Carlos Grande, editor of WARC online, “is a challenge that brands are finding increasingly hard to ignore. As awareness of climate change has risen, many marketers want to show a heightened commitment to reducing their environmental impact and offer consumers greener alternatives.” Being able to boast “going green” has companies drooling at the mouth because consumers are searching for ways to feel better about their consumption habits and purchasing “environmentally friendly” products is one way to exercise this desire.
As a result of the rise in this form of environmentally conscious advertising, several companies have fallen into the trap of green-washing which can be further explained by what is known as the spotlight effect. According to Grande, green-washing is the action of over-claiming benefits that a product, service or company has on the environment in order to make the brand more appealing to the public. The spotlight effect, as described by Craig Davis, an Ohio University advertising professor, is when companies do not want to tell consumers if they are doing something good because, while that may result in positive brand experiences from consumers, there are also many groups that are trying to catch mistakes those companies are making in that or other areas. An example of the spotlight effect can be found in Starbucks Coffee.
Rowenna Davis of New Internationalist researched Starbuck’s proclamation that “Good Coffee Can Do Good Things” in an article she wrote for the magazine. “More than any other mainstream multinational, Starbucks tries to present itself as ethically virtuous: the company knows that corporate social responsibility (CSR) sells,” writes Davis. And CSR sells a lot. Think about how many times consumers are told how much waste companies produce or how unfair the wages are in sweatshops across the world. How often does that change a consumers mind about purchasing the goods or services that employ such tactics? Consumers do not want products that just advertise social responsibility but the ones that can also prove it. Starbucks had 12,440 store locations spanning 37 countries grossing net revenue of $7.8 billion in 2006, according to Davis. This says something about the consumers’ desire for not only the goods Starbucks has to offer but also for the good feelings that come from supporting a company that supports the environment and other programs deemed socially responsible company practices such as the purchase of coffee at a fair wage from overseas farmers. Starbucks’ fiscal year was down in 2007, according to Davis; this could be a result of findings that the company may not be purchasing beans at a fair wage and thus, has been lying to consumers through advertisements that claim otherwise. “Starbucks’ image of corporate social responsibility might have made a profit in the past,” writes Davis. “But, it’s tempting to think that an irresponsible reality could contribute to making its future bankrupt.” Starbucks has succumbed to the pitfall of the spotlight effect. Consumers are catching on to the company’s advertisements and noticing all of the gaps left in their statements. While the company probably does a lot of good, the results are not up to par with their advertising claims thus; consumers are no longer trusting of Starbucks. Their media plan backfired.
Some companies, however, have been able to successfully avoid having a target on their back placed there by consumers that have felt deceived by their advertisements. Toyota may be one such example. According to the company’s website, Toyota has employed an environmental action plan aimed at reducing energy usage, minimizing air emissions, cutting greenhouse gas emissions, identifying materials from renewable resources, reducing waste and water consumption as well as capitalizing on recycling opportunities in order to reach their goal – “sending zero waste to landfill”. Toyota has launched their “Beyond Cars” campaign which consists of print and online advertisements as well as television spots. Their print ads feature the outline of a car being carried by workers to the background of greenery – beautiful grass, trees and the vision of a clear blue sky. The advertisement has this written on the bottom of the image: “We see beyond cars. We see ways to enrich the community.” Under the claims, these Toyota print advertisements go on to describe how the company employs locally as well as partners with local vendors and supplies to better the community. These claims seem to be substantiated by the company’s website which quantifies their work: there are 14 Toyota manufacturing plants in North America and over 1,800 dealerships which sold more than 2.5 million vehicles in 2008. The company employs roughly 41,000 in North America and purchases parts, materials, goods and services from North American suppliers which total nearly $25 billion annually. That’s a lot of community involvement and the advertisements creatively showcase Toyota’s commitment to community. By being able to backup advertising claims, the consumer feels more comfortable with purchasing a Toyota vehicle. Yet, one Toyota flaw may be that the company is obviously not revealing any information as to whether or not they were able to achieve their goal of zero landfill waste.
As an advertising major, I find that I stand somewhere outside the realm of what companies are doing in the way of advertising their sustainable practices. The way that Absolut Vodka depicts its stance on environmental issues is most aligned with my feelings on the practice. The company has launched a campaign that positions Absolut as a premier brand that can be a part of everything that consumers do and feel. Basically, their print advertisements consist of a scene with an object in the shape of an Absolut bottle with a phrase at the bottom that describes the scene. My favorite is a picture of a factory but, instead of emitting smoke and chemicals, the factory is blowing out bubbles; the tagline is “In an Absolut World”. By advertising in a way that shows the consumer that you agree with their wants and desires to make this world a better, cleaner place without making any outrageous claim to be singlehandedly fixing the problem, a company’s advertisements are much more endearing and believable to the consumer.