Advertising and the Environment

The book Communicating Nature, by Julia B. Corbett, goes into the four types of ads featuring the environment. The four types of ads are nature-as-backdrop, green product attributes, green image, and environmental advocacy. Corbett explains how in the nature-as-backdrop ad, “you are not being asked to buy something that has a direct or obvious connection to the natural world, but nonhuman icons are very much part of the overall persuasive message, playing the role of nature as backdrop” (2006). This ad is most commonly used, and the environment blends into the background. The green product attributes ad works to make consumers feel as if when they buy the product, they are living a green lifestyle. This ad makes consumers feel as if they are supporting more environmentally friendly companies and that they are making a difference in their life to become more environmentally conscious. The green image ad focuses more on the institutions and portrays them as pro-environmental institutions in their actions. This type of ad can also be known as, “institutional advertising” because it mainly focuses on the institution and the things they are doing. Environmental advocacy advertising can best be described by Corbett in that it works in, “encouraging environmental action, or advocating a particular stance on an environmental issue” (2006). These ads are purchased by corporations or environmental groups that are interested in affecting public policy or environmental decisions. All in all, these four types of advertising have a target goal of making consumers feel as if there are a ‘green consumer’.

Environmental ads can be seen all over the world and are an up and coming part of environmental movements. People are exposed to environmental ads in many ways and places throughout their daily lives. Personally, I love to see the expansion of environmental ads and the impacts it has on consumers. As an environmental sustainability major, it makes me happy seeing companies and industries trying to have a more positive impact on the environment. I often go shopping with my friends and roommates and I try to encourage them to use more environmentally friendly products. The movement into more green ads helps people become more aware of the products they are purchasing and the impact they have on the earth. Overall, I enjoyed being able to go more in depth on the topic of green ads and the impact these ads have on consumers.

The article, “Watching Fox News makes people distrust science”, written by Lindsay Abrams discusses the effects that media has on public perception and in this case climate change. This article provided an in depth look of news media and the impact it has based on the way it is presented. Researchers conducted a study and found that, “the more exposed Americans are to conservative media, the less certain they become that climate change is happening” (2013). This then allowed them to conclude based off the results that not only are people less concerned with climate change, but there is a decrease in the trust of the scientists who say it’s happening. This article spoke volumes to me because people who are simply watching the news to become informed are being persuaded or pushed into thinking something based off political perspectives. I think that when someone turns on the news they should simply just be given the facts in the way they are collected and then able to make their own decisions based from this. It is concerning seeing how much personal influence these news channels have the public’s’ decision making. These news channels are turning into something that I do not believe to be beneficial for the future of environmental sustainability but also for the public themselves. When someone turns on the news they should be able to watch and then form their own opinions on any given topic, instead of being presented topics that already have formed opinions.

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