Back in the 1960s, Canadians loved Esso’s ad campaign “Put a tiger in your tank” so much they attached colourful “tiger tails” to their gas tank covers. The plush orange-and-black pennant flapped proudly behind Granddad’s Pontiac as it belched exhaust fumes and promoted his favourite hydrocarbon.
But oil-industry marketing may soon be as endangered as tigers in the wild. Growing knowledge of the dangers of fossil fuels – and the role of marketing in boosting demand when it should be declining – is changing attitudes toward oil-industry promotion. In late summer, France led the way in announcing a ban on advertising for fossil fuel products such as oil, coal and hydrogen-containing carbons. Penalties include fines ranging from €20,000 to €100,000, with those amounts doubling for repeat offences.
Even The Drum, a U.K.-based web publisher serving the marketing industry, sees the writing on the wall. Given that the global oil giants are nonetheless still expanding production, The Drum reports, “it is hardly surprising then that litigation and regulatory interest are flaring up around fossil fuel advertising globally.”
Activist organizations have banded together to demand that Europe ban fossil fuel ads. As campaign website BanFossilFuelAds.org points out, “Thanks to their misleading advertising and sponsorships, fossil fuel companies earn the social acceptance and political access they need to block climate action and continue with business as usual.”
France’s law, which takes effect next year, emerged from 2021 climate legislation that aims to reduce energy use and promote renewable sources. But Greenpeace and other advocates say the ban doesn’t go far enough. “You will read everywhere that advertising for fossil fuels is now prohibited, but that's not true," said Greenpeace France in a statement. "Ads for gas can continue, patronage, sponsorship, institutional communication and financial advertising on fossil products remain authorized.”
Still, ad bans seem to be emerging as an effective tool to restrain anti-social activities, especially at the local level. Last year, Amsterdam became the world’s first city to ban fossil fuel advertising. In September, the Dutch city of Haarlem banned ads in public spaces (e.g., buses, shelters) not only for fossil fuels, but for cars, holiday flights and meat products. The meat sector accused Haarlem councillors of “going too far in telling people what’s best for them.” But a 2021 University of Illinois study found that when you include production, transportation and fertilizer, the agricultural industry represents 35% of all global emissions – and meat production generates more than half of that total.
Canada could be next. In June, a potent coalition of medical associations representing 700,000 health professionals signed an open letter calling on Ottawa to ban advertising for fossil fuels, gas utilities and gasoline vehicles. “Climate change is a public health crisis,” declared Joe Vipond, president of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE), which sent the letter. A recent Health Canada report found that fossil fuel air pollution kills between 15,000 to 34,000 Canadians annually – while children who live in homes with gas stoves face a 24% to 42% greater risk of developing asthma.
In September, CAPE struck again, filing a greenwashing complaint with the federal Competition Bureau against the natural gas industry. The complaint focuses on claims by the Canadian Gas Association that represent gas as a clean, affordable and sustainable choice.
The complaint claims that the carbon emissions of natural gas are comparable to fossil fuels such as coal and that producing natural gas pollutes the air and water. It also says gas appliances cause indoor air pollution and pose a serious health risk. The Competition Bureau may seem an unlikely forum to seek environmental justice, but just a few days before CAPE’s filing, the board hosted a seminar on “the role of competition enforcement in the transition to a greener economy.”
Why have Canadian physicians become climate hawks? Leah Temper, director of CAPE’s ad-ban campaign, says the medical community “has become more explicit about identifying fossil fuels as a health problem and making the case that they have to be phased out for the good of our health and of the planet.”
