THE FOUNDER of climate-action movement Force of Nature has called on the advertising industry to do more to support activists in their work.
“This industry shapes what we think about, it decides what’s aspirational and it manufacturers our desires. It compels our behaviour,” Clover Hogan said during her Secret Speaker talk yesterday at Cannes Lions.
“What would it look like if this industry were a force for good? If instead of propping up destructive industries like fossil fuels, aviation, fast fashion and mass-consumed meat and dairy, it instead promoted a regenerative economy which put wellbeing and nature ahead of profit?” Hogan said.
“What if, instead of allying itself with influencers who promote mass consumerism and consumption, it allied itself with activists who are fighting for justice?”
She also called for a shift in how the climate crisis is covered in the media, to encourage people to take action, rather than feeling overwhelmed by the task.
“The media for years failed to really sound the alarm on the climate crisis. Now they’re starting to talk about it, but they’re only platforming the domesday headlines. They’re only platforming what’s going to go wrong,” Hogan said.
“They’re not investing the time, the energy in telling stories that actually cultivate a sense of agency. That translates the climate crisis from this big, abstract problem into the decisions you make every day, into the choices we make in our work.”
“We need to really think about how we tell stories and cultivate agency,” Hogan said.