Activist group Greenpeace has launched a campaign slamming drink giant Coke for its efforts to kill off a national recycling scheme which would save marine birds. The ad masks itself as a regular Coke spot until dead birds start falling from the sky.
The ad claims Coke is trying to halt the Northern Territory's 'Cash for Containers' scheme, which refunds consumers 10 cents for each container recycled.
It is led by a contronting television spot which shows a group of young people on a beach drinking Coke. The mood then changes as dead birds start dropping from the sky onto the sand.
The organisation is calling for consumers to back the campaign so it can be aired on TV by the end of this week. It hopes to increase the amount of state premiers who support the recycling scheme. A Greenpeace spokesperson told AdNews: "Our aim is to have it on TV by Friday night so it can air during the football. The primary decision maker on the campaign is premier Barry O'Farrell and we know he loves his football".
The ad is the next instalment in a print campaign earlier this month which appeared in papers The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
Meanwhile, Greenpeace Australia Pacific senior campaigner Reece Turner said in a statement: “Coca-Cola has relentlessly bullied politicians, spent hundreds of thousands of dollars silencing recycling advocates and taken the Northern Territory (NT) Government to court to crush the Territory’s community-supported scheme. Behind Coke’s slogans and sunshine, the beverage giant is trashing Australia.”
The organisation is supporting its message with statistics that 45% of rubbish collected every Clean Up Australia Day is beverage industry-related. Two-thirds of marine birds choke or become entangled in plastic waste, it said.
The creative agency behind the campaign was The Republic of Everyone.
However, food, drink and grocery sector's industry body - Australian Food and Grocery Council - does not believe the scheme will be effective. It has proposed the 'National Bin Network' as an alternative. The body has argued against the scheme for several reasons, such as increased cost of food and drink products. It has also claimed it may pose a threat to kerbside recycling.
Greenpeace made headlines in October last year for its 'Reject John West' campaign against the tinned fish brand. It claimed it had "destructive" fishing methods and encouraged consumers to boycott it.
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