Is This Ad Too Shocking for TV?

Photo: We Campaign

related articles

The We Campaign -- the $300 million advertising arm of Al Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection -- is accusing ABC of refusing to air its latest ad, which accuses the oil and coal industries of derailing efforts to invest in clean and renewable forms of energy.

Both oil and coal companies and industry groups have been heavily advertising during presidential campaign events. You can hardly get through a cable news broadcast -- certainly not debate coverage -- without seeing an ad about coal fueling the American dream or the good work oil companies are doing investing in renewable energy. (So why do we still call them oil companies?)

The We Campaign ad repeats its mantra: That investing in alternative energy is the way to jumpstart the economy and solve the "climate crisis," and that we could do it if the fossil fuel industry didn't spend so much lobbying and advertising. Yet, the We Campaign says its add has been refused, and it's started a petition drive to get the thing aired. (We couldn't find references to any response from ABC.)

One doesn't have to look any farther than the presidential campaign to see that this kind of advertising is the cheapest around: Create a controversy around your ad, and it will be widely aired for free, sent from friend to friend via email and IM. It's viral advertising, and it works.

We've been infected, and now you have to:

COMMENTS ()