ASA investigates climate change ad
The ASA has confirmed it is investigating the Government’s climate change television campaign after it received more than 350 complaints from viewers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w62gsctP2gc
The ad, created by AMV. BBDO for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), launched on 9 October to promote the Government’s Act on CO2 initiative.
The £6m campaign marks a stronger approach from the DECC following research that revealed more than 50% of the population don’t think climate change will effect them.
It is the first time the Government has said there is scientific evidence that climate change is caused by people, a claim that is disputed by some of the complaints.
The ad targets adults and is designed to motivate parents to think about the effects of carbon emissions to “protect the next generation”.
Complaints also claim the advert is upsetting for children as it shows a father reading his daughter a bedtime story that depicts a town underwater as carbon dioxide spews from cars and houses and tells of the “horrible consequences” carbon emissions have on the world.
The DECC stands by the message and the “creative approach” of the ad.
Energy and climate change minister, Joan Ruddock says: “It’s consistent with Government policy on the issue, which is informed by the latest science and assessments of peer-reviewed, scientific literature made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and other international bodies.
