posters and billboards
Local residents and environmental activists of North Somerset and Bristol have been campaigning to stop Bristol Airport from expanding at a time when we are facing a climate emergency. Our most audacious billboard features Dave Lees, the CEO of the airport, who has fronted its greenwash campaign in claiming the airport is going to be fully sustainable whilst pumping out a million tonnes of carbon per year from the additional flights involved.
Bristol Airport is going to be a key target of the campaign. (for further information see the page on Actions).
During the first week of the Greenwash Free Launch Bristol launch, it was decided that we needed a concerted effort to educate local people on what 'greenwash' actually involved. Therefore, it was decided to create a series of thought-provoking and visually striking posters. In addition, we wanted to go big and post on a series of billboards.
Small teams were organised to go out to separate areas and post up the posters. The idea was to get a basic understanding of the term greenwash plastered around the city so that people would be better informed when they see or read about future actions undertaken as part of the campaign.
As for the billboards, a site of 3 abandoned boards along the busy A38 Bath Road was identified. The billboard team worked well to achieve a professional result. The key test is to see how long they stay up. Meanwhile, other billboard sites are being identified for future embellishment.
Big thanks to the Bristol Arts and M & M teams who came up with this initial series of designs whereby the public are instantly drawn towards the idyllic scenes framed in the sunglasses. These are the lovely images that the marketing teams create with their slick copy and slogans, yet hidden behind is the reality of what their firms are actually to the environment. It's a case of 'Hey, look over here to see what sustainable practices we are introducing.' Some companies are experts at diverting people's attention from the devastation of their activities - it's a classic tool from the 'greenwashers playbook'.