Protesters at Cannes Stir Dissent Among Workers Left Behind
Partying on Yachts vs. Fighting Climate Change: The Clever Stunt by Clean Creatives
Feeling left out while your bosses are jet-setting at the Cannes Lions festival? Well, you're not alone. Thousands of advertising and PR agency employees find themselves in the same predicament. But not everyone is letting it slide.
Enter Clean Creatives, a group of climate activists who have decided to bring a dash of Cannes vacation to the hardworking professionals still chained to their desks. These eco-warriors are sending cans of sand from the iconic Cannes beaches to agency offices in Chicago, London, and New York.
This quirky gesture is part of a broader plan to rally advertising professionals and smaller agencies to Clean Creatives' cause - encouraging the industry to cut ties with fossil fuel companies. And who are these fossil fuel companies? None other than the ones listed on Clean Creatives' 2024 F-List - a roster of 590 ad and PR agencies that inked contracts with 332 fossil fuel companies worldwide in 2023 and 2024.
Each can of sand comes with a surprise - a scratch-and-sniff postcard with scents evoking rosé, sunscreen, and the unmistakable aroma of oil, apropos for agencies working with polluting clients. To top it off, Clean Creatives is hosting happy hours in each of the three cities, giving agency employees the chance to learn more about the group's mission and mingle with like-minded individuals. An invite to those happy hours comes tucked inside the Cannes cans.
"Stuck at work during Cannes deserves a celebration for their hard work, and a louder voice for their concerns about working for fossil fuel clients," said Duncan Meisel, Clean Creatives' executive director. The group hopes to capitalize on the frustration building among agency employees over the last year as layoffs, office mandates, and the looming threat of AI-driven job displacement have taken a toll on agency morale, particularly at the major holding companies.
Clean Creatives' campaign isn't a new phenomenon. Over the years, activist groups like Greenpeace, Creatives for Climate, and Extinction Rebellion have shone a spotlight on execs at the festival, exposing the industry's greenwashing tactics for fossil fuel clients.
This year, however, Clean Creatives opted to redirect its resources towards the unsung heroes of the ad industry - the employees. "Personnel at holding companies are bearing the brunt of their leadership's inability to adapt to changing industry conditions, from adtech to AI," Meisel told ADWEEK. "Climate change represents another test for that leadership, and CEOs are once again failing to respond, leaving employees in a precarious position of serving polluters that harm their other clients and yank at their moral values."
In essence, Clean Creatives' campaign is a multifaceted approach aimed at pressuring the ad industry to align its interests with environmental and public health causes. By exposing contracts between agencies and fossil fuel companies, hosting events for industry professionals, and symbolically sending cans of Cannes sand as a reminder of the industry's complicity in climate harm, Clean Creatives is seeking to nudge the ad industry towards a greener, more just future.
- Clean Creatives, the climate activist group, has sent cans of sand from Cannes beaches to agency offices in Chicago, London, and New York to symbolize the industry's complicity in climate harm.
- These cans of sand come with a surprise - a scratch-and-sniff postcard with scents evoking rosé, sunscreen, and the unmistakable aroma of oil, a reminder of agencies working with polluting clients.
- Clean Creatives is also hosting happy hours in each of the three cities, offering agency employees an opportunity to learn more about the group's mission and mingle with like-minded individuals.
- Duncan Meisel, Clean Creatives' executive director, stated that the group aims to capitalize on the frustration among agency employees due to layoffs, office mandates, and AI-driven job displacement.
- The goal of Clean Creatives' campaign is to pressure the ad industry to align its interests with environmental and public health causes, by exposing contracts between agencies and fossil fuel companies, hosting events, and sending cans of Cannes sand as reminders.
