Get foolish about climate change
Environmentalists in the U.K.'s Together campaign spend most of their time spreading the word about the dangers of climate change. But for April 1, they're reveling in the joys of energy wasting. Caitlan Carroll explains.
TEXT OF STORY
Renita Jablonski: Environmentalists also took part in today’s London protest. The U.K.’s Together campaign spends most of its time issuing dire warnings about climate change. But today, its message is to get a little . . . foolish. From the Marketplace Sustainability Desk, Caitlan Carroll explains.
Caitlan Carroll: Last year, the campaign dubbed April 1st “Energy Wasting Day.” It introduced the holiday with a YouTube video featuring Dan Power — a pot-bellied poster child for the anti-eco lifestyle.
Tom runs over cyclists in his big car . . .
Dan Power: Check this out, loser!
And likes to run the dryer to warm up just one garment: his underwear.
Power: Mmm — toasty undercrackers.
The video attracted more than half a million viewers to the Together campaign Web site. And it spawned a Dan Power fan club. Now there are ringtones, T-shirts and for 2009, a music video.
Campaign manager Tom Gribbin says humor drums up an audience for the gloomy topic of global warming.
Tom Gribbin: We should try and have a bit of fun and we should try and make climate change sexy if we can, I suppose.
But Radar Research marketing analyst Marissa Gluck isn’t sure if sexy sustains:
Marissa Gluck: So you know, the question is can taking this approach lead to longer-term behavioral changes?
Or at least some pocket change for the charity?
Dan Power is out with a new music video. The campaign gets a few cents every time it’s downloaded.
I’m Caitlan Carroll for Marketplace.