This morning's Creativity Online Email (AdAge) includes a new EDF Television commercial, which focuses on the issue of Climate Change as a man-made phenomenon, requiring a man-made solution. Creatively the brand message: 'Save Today. Save Tomorrow.' is cleverly supported by making the commercial entirely from recycled film clips.
The voice over promises that by 2020 EDF Energy aims to reduce the carbon intensity of the emissions resulting from the production of their electricity by 60%. But while the viewer is listening to this, the gentle 'it's not that easy being green' soundtrack and the warning that 'If we save today, we can save tomorrow', the footnote (aka: 'the small print) notes that: 'Aims based on improvements to EDF Energy's 2006 performance and is subject to change in the event of matters beyond EDF Energy's reasonable control'.
Of course an entire worldwide climate condition is not EDF's responsibility and certainly not in their realm of influence. But if EDF can't make the changes, should they even be promising to? Grand gestures of intent in the area of social or environmental responsibility are far more authentic and believable if they are based on absolutes. Including this kind of addendum in the footnote feels a little close to greenwashing - saying the right thing, probably for the right reasons, but without having to make all that much committment.
