DECC advert appears on most complained-about list
A Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) advert from 2010 is ninth on the Advertising Standards Authority’s (ASA) most complained-about adverts of all time.
The advert, which shows a young girl being read a bedtime story by her father about a world ravaged by the effects of climate change, received 939 complaints, with many viewers saying it could be “distressing” for children.
A selection of nursery rhyme-themed press adverts from DECC were also banned in 2010. One read, “Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. There was none, as extreme weather due to climate change had caused a drought.”
Others included, “Rub a dub dub three men in a tub, a necessary course of action due to flash flooding caused by climate change” and “Twinkle twinkle little star; how I wonder what you are, looking down at dangerously high levels of CO2 in the atmosphere.”
The ASA added that DECC’s adverts were “misleading” and that there was “significant division of informed scientific opinion“.
Whilst perhaps a little shocking to take in, though, the adverts certainly did their job in spreading the issue of climate change to a wider audience. Yes, it is scary – but bubble wrapping our children from real dangers is often not the best way to go. It should therefore be seen as sustainable education – something that the leaders of today sorely missed.
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