Liège, Belgique, Octobre 2021.
On the evening of Wednesday, October 6, activists from Liège Sans Pub collective plastered around a hundred posters across the city, targeting advertising from fossil fuel companies, including the automotive industry. The posters featured an SUV model from the Land Rover brand (one of the most polluting in the UK, which has been accused of false advertising with 96 complaints sent to the advertising regulatory authority) with the text ‘Ignore the children, burn the planet.’
This ironic message marks the beginning of four days of actions against advertising and the partnership of fossil fuel companies (October 7-10) with actions planned in Belgium, France, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Denmark.
This action has been covered in local press and on television. In response to the nature of their action, the activists from the collective denounce advertising from polluting companies, which, like with tobacco, not only promote harmful products but also, through greenwashing strategies, allow these companies to present a socially responsible image to the public.
The Liège Sans Pub collective was formed during the negotiations of the city’s contract with the international advertising company JC Decaux. The main goal of the group is to denounce advertising in public spaces while raising broader issues related to advertising regulation and criticism. For several years, the group has been involved in actions against car advertising during the annual car show in Belgium.
On October 4, 2021, Greenpeace launched a European Citizens’ Initiative to ban advertising and partnerships with fossil fuel companies. If you are a European citizen, you can sign it here: https://europa.eu/citizens-initiative/initiatives/details/2021/000004_en
