Coal will say anything
This week, the Sierra Club introduced its first major national video campaign to promote its Beyond Coal initiative. The spots (first two below) feature “Mr. Coal,” a fictional character that represents the coal industry and its lies suggesting that the fossil fuel is cheap, safe and clean when in reality it is quite dangerous and has huge costs to our environment and our health.
www.sierraclub.org
www.AskMrCoal.com
Agency: Mekanism
Move humanity forward
Last week I presented some ideas to a group of MBA students at CU. It was about sustainable marketing and our work at the FearLess Cottage. It was a really smart group that probably should have been presenting to me instead of the other way around. Anyway, it was a lot of fun. I look forward to sharing these ideas more in the future. These are the slides I used.
- Jeff Oeth
Bud Caddell’s definition of a digital strategy.
For the past several months I’ve had the pleasure of working on marketing and design for The Climate Reality Project, Al Gore’s climate awareness organization that we helped re-brand (previously The Alliance for Climate Protection).
This is one of the new videos we created for the Project, along with the mega-talented guys at m ss ng p eces from New York. This one covers the basics of climate change, and is narrated by Bill Nye the Science Guy.
Choose Reality
I’m super excited to be working with The Climate Reality Project, the latest climate awareness effort by Al Gore. The campaign aims to “focus the world’s attention on the full truth, scope, scale and impact of the climate crisis. To remove the doubt. Reveal the deniers. And catalyze urgency around an issue that affects every one of us.”
Watch the video for the first event, 24 Hours of Reality, which the FearLess Cottage helped produce, along with the talented folks at Brooklyn film studio m ss ng p eces:
On September 14, there will be live streaming presentations from Al Gore and others all across the globe giving the latest information on what’s going on with all the dirty weather and political issues that are blocking action on climate change.
For the latest news and updates, follow The Climate Reality Project on Twitter and Facebook.
One of the interns we have lined up for the summer, Katie Brennan, stopped by the FearLess Cottage a few weeks ago to discuss the creation of COMMON with me.
Thoughts on design
I was recently asked to give some thoughts on design. What kind of work I like to do, and what I like to see in other people’s work. This is part of what came out:
My goal as a designer is to create what I like to call meaningful brand connections. That can mean a lot of different things… A memorable experience. A story worth repeating. Alluring design. Efficient use of resources. Clear messaging. A sense of value for both the brand and their audience. Something that helps people, our health and our environment. Something that makes people smile. Or at least a positive feeling about a brand. The work I like usually has some combination of these elements. I’m a type and graphics geek, but cool looking design isn’t enough to win me over. It needs to have a purpose.
- Jeff Oeth
(Artwork by Brad Neely.)
Cities under water
New data confirms that sea level rise may reach six feet by the end of this century. Such a change would put many existing cities under water.
In the United States, parts of the East Coast and Gulf Coast would be hit hard. In New York, coastal flooding could become routine, with large parts of Queens and Brooklyn especially vulnerable. About 15 percent of the urbanized land in the Miami region could be inundated.
Whether you believe humans are causing it or not, the planet is heating up very quickly. Flooding is just one of the dramatic effects that will drive many Americans out of their homes.
(Image via this clever ad)
Breathe.
Big polluters have been working hard this year to weaken the Clean Air Act. Share this video to help prevent them from poisoning the air we breathe.
Bruce Mau: “Yes is more”
Designer Bruce Mau wrote an excellent piece on why the green movement has failed to inspire, and how designers can bring change to the world:
Think carrot, not stick. Seduction, not sacrifice. Yes!, not No! If we are to accomplish the objectives of the environmental movement—to create a culture that can exist in perpetuity and in harmony with the ecological systems that support us—we must re-imagine and redesign everything we do. But we must also do so in a way that allows people to experience beauty, exhilaration, love, pleasure, and delight without destroying our planet and its nature.
