Revealed: British ad firm's billion-dollar greenwash of US oil industry
13 hours ago
- #Advertising Industry
- #Fossil Fuels
- #Climate Crisis
- A British advertising conglomerate, WPP, has facilitated an estimated $1 billion in US advertising for ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, and BP since the 2015 Paris Agreement.
- A congressional investigation in April 2024 concluded that these oil companies used 'deceptive and misleading' communications to thwart climate policies.
- WPP's services, crucial to maintaining the oil industry's public image, reportedly breached its own 2022 policy against projects that may frustrate Paris Agreement goals.
- ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, and BP spent an estimated $1.5 billion on US ad space since the Paris Agreement.
- WPP's agencies, including Ogilvy and Wavemaker, have worked on campaigns for BP and Chevron that faced complaints of misleading advertising and greenwashing.
- Current and former employees claim WPP's work primarily deflects criticism from polluters, despite internal claims of promoting cleaner business models.
- BP and Shell have weakened climate targets in recent years, while their advertising has shifted to promote the necessity of fossil fuels.
- The analysis by DeSmog, using public and confidential sources, highlights WPP's dominance in serving the oil industry's advertising needs.
- Concerns are raised that WPP's ongoing work with oil companies violates its Paris Agreement policy, with new fossil fuel projects incompatible with climate goals.
- International pressure, including from the UN and OECD, urges ad agencies to drop fossil fuel clients, while protesters have targeted WPP's offices.