Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Chairman of Waterkeeper Alliance, and Gloria Reuben of TNT’s Raising the Bar, hosted our launch party for The Dirty Lie campaign at The Greenhouse, New York’s first “eco-lounge”. A packed house of reporters, celebrities, envirogroupies, donors and party-goers stood gob-smacked as they watched our videos showing the devastating affects of mountaintop removal and of mercury emissions.
The crowd was equally awed when Gloria and RFK spoke about the deadly effects of the filthy coal industry. The purpose of the party was to start a dialogue about energy with young influencers, eventually debunking the myth of “clean coal.” From the reaction of the crowd, we’re pretty sure we started something.
In lieu of the recent energy crisis, the coal industry has spent millions of dollars on a national public awareness campaign, touting the benefits of “Clean Coal” and propagating the nationalistic slogan that coal is “America’s Power”. The idea that coal can be clean is nothing more than a dirty lie. The coal industry accounts for deadly air pollutants, water contamination, fish poisoning, toxic mercury emissions—causing irreversible damage to our health, our food supply and our environment.
In response, Mouth created a digital awareness campaign for Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s Waterkeeper Alliance, called The Dirty Lie (www.thedirtylie.com). The campaign has generated enough press to put us right smack in the middle of the coal wars. Below is a short list of recent press. And we’re just getting started.
2008 was weird and confusing. The market tanked and Pepsi got a new can, again. Between those two important hallmarks we did come together to elect a new president, thank goodness. How we made it through no one knows. What we can tell you is that if the same confounding fate awaits us in 2009, have no fear. We here at Mouth have created a little game to answer all of your questions this year. Good luck and may Mouth be with you.
The coal industry is looking to make us believe that coal is warm and cuddly and that we should be thankful for their dirty fuel. What better way to do this than to bastardize our favorite Christmas carols and have them sung by what is supposed to be the worst thing you can get on Christmas, lumps of coal.
One of 2 things is happening here. Either the the coal industry really is super evil and desensitized to the fact that they are causing tremendous damage to our environment and health, or their creative agency is playing a cruel joke on the jerks they work for. The only place that we can think of where lying to the public is normal and coal is great for Christmas, is hell. And that is where this campaign should go.
There have always been oddball things that attract people for barebones reasons. For example in Japan you can rent “anger rooms” where you pay by the hour for a perfectly made up room, which you can absolutely destroy. What stands out about this idea is that the people who rent these rooms seem to possess a calculated responsibility over their anger management. Instead of taking frustration out on their own possessions or in front of their family and friends, they let someone provide a space to blow off steam.
This seems to be the same idea behind Ifuckinghateyou.com–possibly the world’s first anti-social network. Poking around on the site seems like a freak show at first. Crazy people dressed as if everyday is Halloween. You can be friends with other users, but only if they share a common hatred for an IFHY user.
However anti-social IFHY seems to be, one thing is apparent. It seems as though IFHY may be the only completely honest social network around. The environment breeds a community of people who not only want to know what people think of them, but are also not afraid to tell people that they look fat, or are assholes for forgetting a birthday, or are simply disliked for undisclosed reasons. IFHY is more of an adult version of their G rated counterparts. It reminds us of a grown-up edition of the honesty and trust games we all used to play at camp. The only difference is that ifuckinghateyou.com is much more fun.
In the last few days the social networks have been a buzz with fear and loathing for the territory this Motrin ad has entered. The piece seems to claim that wearing your child is basically like putting on a $10,000 pair of uncomfortable Jimmy Choo shoes, that it is both extremely fashionable and painful at the same time. Somewhere they forgot to remember that mothers enjoy being close to their children. Daycare is not for everyone you know.
The fallout from the public has caused Motrin to pull the ads and issue an apology. The question here is whether or not this controversy/pr nightmare will hurt or help their brand. While being offensive, the commercial is still sending a message that people are discussing. It is memorable and isn’t that what advertising is all about? For all those who are offended, we are willing to bet that the next time you are in the ibuprofen isle at the drug store you will be thinking about Motrin before Advil.
Case 2: Brooke Shields Told Me To Get Pregnant And Buy A German Mini Van.
Has anyone noticed the inherent creepiness of the latest Volkswagen Routan ads with Brook Shields? Is she or is she not telling us to create a little army of whippersnappers who will one day grow up and defend our nation against the powers who intend to destroy us? And how odd is it that this message comes from a company who’s name means “the people’s car”, and who’s original state-sponsored business plan was to give an automobile to everyone belonging to the master race? However disturbing or unintentional it may be, these commercials are so odd they have lasting power. Kind of like how everyone knows about the movie Soilent Green. Thanks Brooke, but this mini-van better be really fast and turn into a submarine or something.
