This Warming: ITV Begin Fighting Climate Change
After launching their new advertising campaign, ITV has begun actively encouraging people to reduce footprint as well as cutting down their own.
“The shows we never want to make” is the newest ad campaign launched by ITV which will be aimed at preventing global warming. The first advert launched on 21st November during last weekend’s ‘I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here’. Climate change is especially important to this particular show as its usual setting, the outback of Australia, suffered widespread and devastating wildfires earlier this year. The Australian branch of ‘I’m a Celeb…’ raised over $25 million in support of the disastrous bushfires and ITV’s new campaign will be the English version’s aid.
The advert itself shows a red-tinged screen distorted by heat. The familiar tones of ‘This Morning’ begin to play as the camera swoops over a scorched tower bridge. The viewer sees glowing embers and ash fly across the camera in front of the apocalyptic show’s title: ‘This Warming’. A clear and powerful message.
Another one of the adverts shows the roofs of an all-too-familiar Salford street amid a sweeping storm, winding winds and stabbing forks of lighting. Rain thunders down onto roof tiles as the Coronation street theme tune plays, ‘Catastrophe street’ is shown on screen before a streak of lightning decapitates a chimney. As the chimney tumbles to the ground, the viewer is left to contemplate the effects of climate change.
The third and final message plays on ‘Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway’ but shows a studio ravaged by a tornado, the show’s title has become ‘Saturday Night Blown Away’.
All three adverts use shocking imagery to grab the viewer’s attention before panning away from the TV screen and showing the details of the campaign. ITV states that it is intending to reach net zero emissions by 2030 with the catchy tagline “Biggest shows, smallest footprint”. The ads finish with a link to their dedicated web page, itv.com/footprint.
On this page, you can see what ITV is doing to reduce emissions as well as tips for viewers to help prevent global warming. We see the relevance of ‘Coronation Street’, ‘This Morning’ and ‘…Saturday Night Takeaway’ as ITV have set out the special measures that these shows are taking. ITV Daytime shows are keeping waste to a minimum, with ‘This Morning’s leftover ingredients and food donated to City Harvest and clothes to Smartworks. Meanwhile, continuing dramas “continually look at ways to lower carbon emission” including low energy lighting, paper-free sets and electric hybrid vehicles. All shows, including ‘…Saturday Night Takeaway’ are now forced to undergo BAFTA’s carbon calculation process to review their environmental effects.
It’s not only the shows that can work out their footprint. ITV also provides a link to use WWF’s footprint calculator. This comes above various pieces of advice to help fight global warming including switching to renewable energy, low impact travelling and downloading rather than streaming.
ITV’s campaign and targets for climate change can only be good and will help prevent the crisis we currently face. Their actions may be influential in moving other businesses towards setting a net zero target as well as producing climate change campaigns.
Digital is a key component of modern campaigns, and this carbon-reduction campaign is no different. Apps and websites are a vital way to engage users and keep them interested through functionality, personalisation, and notifications. If you need help creating easy, fun and engaging apps for your latest campaign please get in touch.
