Berlinbound: Where there’s muck there’s brass

03 July 2007

Where there’s muck there’s brass

The environment truly is nirvana for Big Business. Leafing through the latest copy of weekly news magazine Der Spiegel (and I say leafing because there’s very little worth reading in it), I counted no fewer than nine big, expensive ads placed by multinational corporations each proclaiming to be doing their bit for the environment. Who are these greener-than-thou organisations? Fairtrade? The Co-op Bank? Greenpeace? Err, no, not quite. Try ExxonMobil, BP, Lufthansa, General Electric, smart, the German nuclear power industry association, VW, Citroen, and German power utility RWE.

Here are the details:

Lufthansa: One double-page ad on their support for research into environmentally-friendly technology. Slogan: Wachstum umweltbewusst gestalten. Aus Verantwortung. (Rough translation: Growth driven by sensitivity for the environment. It’s our responsibility.)

GE: One full-page ad with an image of picturesque mountain terrain covered in pine trees. There’s a deep blue river in the foreground, and, err, a coal-laden barge. The headline reads: Weil die Natur Energie mit weniger Emissionen braucht. (Because nature needs power with lower emissions).

Smart: One double-page ad featuring an image of a smart car with CO2 Champion daubed on the side in green paint. Also features the “Live Earth” logo.

The German nuclear industry association: One full-page ad entitled Deutschlands ungeliebte Klimaschützer (Germany’s unloved protectors of the environment). Image of a lake with grassy banks in the foreground. Oh and two cooling towers in the background.

VW: One full-page ad including a booklet containing lots of images of cars driving along fields, orchards, tree-lined roads. The message: Wer ein Auto fährt, trägt eine grosse Verantwortung. Wer eines herstellt, erst recht (Car drivers have a big responsibility. Carmakers an even bigger one).

Citroen: A double half-page spread with an image of a sort of human car leaning back and relaxing in a field surrounded by butterflies and flowers. The headline: Unser CO2 Gewissen ist 120 Gramm leicht (Our CO2 conscience weighs just 120 grams).

RWE: A full-page spread, no image apart from a German flag fluttering in the top right-hand corner. Headline: Energieeffizienz ist für uns kein Zukunftsthema. Sondern eine Aufgabe der Gegenwart (Energy efficiency isn’t a thing of the future for us. It’s a challenge for today). Followed by three paragraphs of blahdeblah that I couldn’t be bothered to read.

ExxonMobil: The environment’s best friend has taken out a full-page ad with the headline: Weniger Emissionen? Wir arbeiten daran (Lower emissions? We’re working on it). Sure you are guys, sure you are.

BP: The pioneer of green branding isn’t going to miss out on this party, and gets in on the act with a full-page ad on the inside back cover sporting the headline Biokraftstoffe: weniger CO2, mehr IQ (Biofuel: less CO2, more IQ).

Coining in the green

A full-page, four-colour advert (like all of the above) in Der Spiegel currently costs €51,110. Which means the value of all the ad space for this guff would have been a bacon-sandwich-dropping €562,100.

But can readers expect fair and balanced reporting on Big Business and the environment from a magazine that trousers over half a million euros in ad revenue from big corporations in just one week?

Maybe. But just maybe.

Posted at 09:38 AM in Dodgy business | Permalink

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Comments

Not to dispute your argument, but the take for the magazine is probably less than that because it's very likely these advertisers have bought multiple-ad contracts, which always go at a discount.

Posted by: ed Ward | 03 July 2007 at 02:56 PM

Hi Ed,

Yes you are right, they almost certainly do get discounts. Nice of you to pop by, BTW!

Posted by: Prof Shaun T Sheep | 03 July 2007 at 05:21 PM

Bit off topic I know but, Are they Lying to us.
Have the EUrocrats forgotten to tell us ALL of their Dastardly Plans.
What better way for an EU Soviet Police State to control its
Population than getting rid of Christianity and replacing it with Sharia Law.
http://bfbwwiii.blogspot.com/2007/10/frankfurt-subversion.html
http://thejournal.parker-joseph.co.uk/blog/_archives/2007/10/3/3269034.html

http://bfbwwiii.blogspot.com/2007/10/ludicrous-diversion.html
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3664960863576873594&hl=en-GB
http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/865

Could the reason the Socialists want to have an Elected Lords be to get rid of the
Bishops who have an automatic seat.
http://thejournal.parker-joseph.co.uk/blog
Our Elite Are QUITE Prepared to DECLARE WAR ON their OWN PEOPLE, what was it Jack Straw said.
Oh Yes, the British are not worth saving as a race.
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/15991/How-the-Government-has-declared-war-on-white-English-people
It's completely illegal, Our rights PREDATE Parliament.
http://www.britsattheirbest.com/freedom/f_your_own_choice.htm
http://thewestminsternews.co.uk/
http://www.eutruth.org.uk
The curse of Political Correctness
http://www.capc.co.uk/
http://www.ukip.org/ukip/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=186&Itemid=68
http://www.capc.co.uk/Petition%20Form.pdf
http://thejournal.parker-joseph.co.uk/blog/_archives/2007/10/3/3269034.html