On ABC TV’s The Gruen Transfer, one of the most popular segments is
‘‘The Pitch’’, where rival ad agencies go head to head on a controversial
subject. Although it’s a joke, the campaigns often manage to strike at the
heart of the issues.
This week, two very different outfits decided to give it a go for
real, tackling the vexed topic of coal seam gas (CSG) mining.
First the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration
Association (APPEA) launched a TV blitz to sell us the positives of CSG mining.
With a juicy budget funded by numerous energy companies, their ads are now
airing nationally.
In the opposite corner, online lobby group GetUp! have made a
commercial highlighting the negatives, and are pleading for donations to put it
to air.
Both campaigns have a very simple goal. To force us to make up our
minds about fracking; the process whereby natural gas (a greenhouse-friendly
source of energy) is extracted from rock formations by injecting fluids and
chemicals into fractures and splitting them open. Those fluids potentially find
their way into the water table and our drinking water, and therein lie major
public health and environmental concerns, as illustrated so graphically in the
US documentary Gaslands.
Australian opponents claim not enough research has been done on the
threat to aquifers. A recent poll suggested two-thirds of us would support a
moratorium until more is known about the environmental impacts. In France,
they’ve already banned fracking. In South Africa, Shell had to withdraw their
‘‘misleading’’ fracking ads.
APPEA’s Rick Wilkinson wants his ads to ‘‘restore the balance’’ in
the debate, which has so far seen – on the ‘‘unbalanced’’ side – a
60,000-strong GetUp! petition, moves by Tony Windsor and the Greens to slow
down the industry, a rural movement called ‘‘Lock The Gate Alliance’’ whose aim
is pretty clear, a disturbing 60 Minutes feature, a Sydney Residents Against
Coal Seam Gas lobby group agitating against mining in the metropolitan area,
and Bob Katter’s Australia Party proposing a one-year ban.
“So…” as Wil Anderson says to his Gruen combatants, “let’s take a
look at the ads.”
Wilkinson and co decided to feature ‘‘real people who are impacted
by CSG and want to tell their own stories.’’ Built around the slogan of ‘‘We
Want CSG’’ (I wonder how long it took the copywriter to come up with that one?)
the lack of production values in the ads is only matched by the lack of hard
information. Unnamed “real people” stare woodenly at the camera and mutter such
inanities as “we need CSG” and “bring it on.” Self-interest and evasiveness
appear to be the order of the day.
We learn that CSG is “breathing new life into country towns” and
that it “means that our young people don’t have to leave town for work.” But
the same, arguably, could have been said about asbestos mining. The so-called
“facts” are merely descriptions of how much money the industry is spending,
rather than a serious attempt to address the environmental, health and property
rights issues troubling the community. From a strategy point of view,
disappointing.
Still smarting, possibly, from the error of their Cate Blanchett
carbon tax ad, GetUp! have also decided to feature “real people”. But unlike
APPEA’s real people, these ones are happy to give us their names as they tell
their somewhat alarming stories. The ad successfully taps a rich seam of
compelling issues: “if they contaminate our water and land, where have we got
to go?”; “(gas companies) can walk right over the top of me” and “the whole
industry should be stopped until the science is known.”
One thing guaranteed to stir ‘‘Not In My Back Yard’’ opposition, it
appears, is when you propose to start drilling against people’s will in their
own back yards.
If the coal seam gas lobby is to have any luck reversing this
growing community antagonism, their ads are going to have to be more than
slogans and obfuscation. They need to be able to communicate that they
understand the community’s concerns and are dealing honestly with them, and
then articulate a clear strategic message that sells the benefits of CSG –
including those that go beyond self-interest.
In the meantime, the GetUp! campaign, with its persuasive message
and simple execution, is winning this pitch.
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