{"id":21454,"date":"2022-06-21T10:52:37","date_gmt":"2022-06-21T09:52:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ounews.co\/?p=21454"},"modified":"2022-06-21T10:52:37","modified_gmt":"2022-06-21T09:52:37","slug":"greenwashing-how-ads-get-you-to-think-brands-are-greener-than-they-are-and-how-to-avoid-falling-for-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/business-law\/greenwashing-how-ads-get-you-to-think-brands-are-greener-than-they-are-and-how-to-avoid-falling-for-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Greenwashing: how ads get you to think brands are greener than they are \u2013 and how to avoid falling for\u00a0it"},"content":{"rendered":"
Brands have several tricks up their sleeves to convince ad viewers their products are sustainable. Here three academics from The Open University: Morteza Abolhasani<\/a>, lecturer in marketing,\u00a0<\/span> <\/i>Gordon Liu<\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>Professor of Marketing Strategy <\/span>\u00a0and <\/span>Zahra Golrokhi<\/a>, <\/span>Lecturer in Engineering, give their views.<\/span><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ads are ubiquitous<\/a> in many people\u2019s lives, whether on billboards across our cities or on our phones as we\u2019re tracked across the internet. That\u2019s a huge amount of power and influence. For example, ads which appeal to eco-conscious consumers have the potential to dramatically affect public perceptions of how brands are addressing climate change<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The green advertising<\/a> trend \u2013 featuring ads that explicitly or implicitly address the relationship between a product or service and the natural environment, promote a green lifestyle, or present a corporation as environmentally responsible \u2013 is growing fast. Many ads now feature a range of clever tactics<\/a>, from filling your screen with green to using vague terms like \u201call-natural<\/a>\u201d, designed to convince you the products they\u2019re selling are good for the planet.<\/p>\n

How to spot greenwashing in advertising<\/h2>\n

But are these ads truly reflective of improvement when it comes to production practices, or is this just another example of greenwashing \u2013 when companies present an exaggerated or even false image of having a positive impact on the environment? Thanks to a growing body of research, there are a number of things you can look out for to tell the difference.<\/p>\n

As more and more people\u2019s eyes are opened to the harsh reality of climate change and the damaging role consumerism<\/a> has to play in accelerating it, brands are realising the need to \u201cput green first\u201d if they want to sell their services. As a result, the last three decades have seen environmental advertising flourish.<\/p>\n

In reaction, research<\/a> on green advertising began to emerge in the early 1990s. Although it\u2019s been relatively scarce, growing numbers of academics have been examining how people respond to green ads \u2013 and how realistic these ads actually are.<\/p>\n

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This ad mockup plays on subconscious associations between the colour green and sustainability.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Even back in 2009, a survey<\/a> found that 80% of marketers were preparing to increase spending on green marketing to target more environmentally conscious consumers. And research since<\/a> has stressed the importance of developing the appropriate blend of communication and messaging techniques in an advert to get those with environmental concerns interested.<\/p>\n

Studies suggest<\/a> that people\u2019s emotional affinity<\/a> towards nature has a strong positive influence on their levels of green consumption. And since eco-friendly products are also often more expensive, ads for them tend to play on people\u2019s emotions<\/a> \u2013 rather than focusing on the functional benefits of the products \u2013 to encourage purchase.<\/p>\n

Look for evidence that a product really is ‘green’<\/h2>\n

Some companies, however, try to create this effect without the facts to back it \u2013 \u201cgreenwashing<\/a>\u201d. Greenwashed ads present confusing or misleading claims that lack concrete information about the actual environmental impacts of whatever\u2019s being advertised. They often involve emotional appeals that make you feel good about helping the environment, when the reality is less palatable.<\/p>\n

In one of the most recent studies on green advertising published in the European Journal of Marketing<\/a>, we\u2019ve investigated the role that ad music plays in consumers\u2019 green buying choices. We created radio advertisements for two fictitious green brands (an electric car and a reusable coffee cup).<\/p>\n

Inspiring music.
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We found that adding upbeat, bright-sounding music to the ads made listeners feel better about the brand in question \u2013 and therefore more likely to buy from it \u2013 compared to when the same radio ad was accompanied by slow, sad music, fearful-sounding music, or no music at all.<\/p>\n

Sad music.
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Fearful music.
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No music.
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With its strong emotive power, background music can be used as a \u201cperipheral cue<\/a>\u201d in ads, along with green slogans, to make products seem more positive. But that means companies are able to misuse these emotional appeals to reinforce fabricated promises and weak claims surrounding sustainability.<\/div>\n

If these claims are publicly debunked, it tends to result in consumer scepticism<\/a> about the validity of any sustainability assertions. This is an unfortunate barrier for brands that actually offer eco-friendly products<\/a>, who are less likely to be taken seriously as a result.<\/p>\n

Misleading advertising<\/h2>\n

Green claims are frequently used to get people to buy products that simply aren\u2019t inherently environmentally friendly: from recyclable plastic bottles<\/a> and disposable coffee cups<\/a> to flights and combustion cars<\/a> marketed as having a \u201clower<\/a>\u201d \u2013 but in reality still very high \u2013 impact on the environment.<\/p>\n

As an example, oil giant BP was alleged to have been misleading customers<\/a> through an advertising campaign launched in 2019. The ads were accused<\/a> of creating a potentially deceptive impression of the company by focusing on its renewable energy investments, while oil and gas still make up a significant proportion of its business. BP withdrew<\/a> the adverts in question in February 2020.<\/p>\n

Indeed, fossil fuel firms are among the biggest spenders<\/a> on Google ads that look like search results, which campaigners believe is an example of endemic greenwashing.<\/p>\n