AMV BBDO Global Warming Ad Draws Hundreds of Complaints: Too Scary for Kids?
Hundreds of viewers in the U.K. have complained about an AMV BBDO TV spot that asks viewers to “act on CO2″ to prevent global warming (video below). Some of the complaints are from climate change deniers. Others believe the ad unnecessarily scares children.
The spot features a father reading his daughter a bedtime story. It’s about a land where the weather becomes more and more harsh, leading to a flood. Pictures in the book show a bunny crying in the heat and a drowning puppy. The wide-eyed tot looks up at her dad and asks, “Is there a happy ending?” Brand Republic:
According to an ASA spokesman, the complaints include objections about the existence of climate change, objections to the ad’s claim that climate change is man-made, and questions as to whether there is a scientific consensus about it.
Another complaint was that the ad… is inappropriate to be seen by children because it is “upsetting and scaremongering”.
The U.K.’s Advertising Standards Authority will make a decision next week on whether to “investigate” the ad. The government is spending £6 million on the campaign.
Jim Edwards, a former managing editor of Adweek, has covered drug marketing at Brandweek for four years, and is a former Knight-Bagehot fellow at Columbia University's business and journalism schools. Follow him on Twitter or send him an email.
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