Badvertising in the spotlight at Stockholm+50

Badvertising at UNDP ‘We Don’t Have Time’ Dragon Den’s style event

Badvertising was in the mix at the Stockholm+50 conference marking the 50th anniversary of the seminal 1972 United Conference on the Human Environment. The event in 1972 was the first major UN gathering to place such an emphasis on the environment, and laid the groundwork for future international policy coordination on the issue. Together with colleagues at New Weather Sweden, ending adverts by major polluters was promoted at two events, one side-event for the ‘People’s summit’ and one at ‘We Don’t Have Time’, hosted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Fossil fuel ads and sponsorships - why we need to end them and how to do it

The seminar hosted by the New Weather Institute, Rapid Transition Alliance and Greenpeace Sweden introduced the international campaign against fossil advertising seeking to end advertising that fuels the climate emergency. 

From academics showcasing their research on why advertising is a climate issue, to campaigns in the Netherlands, Sweden, and at the European level seeking to end high-carbon advertising, the event gave a wide introduction to the issue and what can, and is being done about it.

‘We don’t have time’ - the UN hears the Badvertising message

The most accessible, central and high profile event outside of the ministerial meetings was staged by UNDP under the banner of We Don’t Have Time. Badvertising was invited to explain the campaign in a competitive ‘Dragon’s Den’ style programme for ideas to accelerate climate action, and assessed by a panel of five ‘dragon’ judges. The event was live-recorded and broadcast to a huge global audience.  

All the judges were so impressed by the campaign that they gave it a sweep of the highest marks possible. The judges had professional knowledge of the advertising world itself and recognised the important role played by advertising in driving planetary breakdown.  

Badvertising ended up among the “top three” best pitches and has been invited to the ‘grand final’ of climate proposals to present the issue at COP27 in Sharm-el-Sheikh, in Egypt, this November.