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It’s raining bloody bears – Plane Stupid’s ‘polarizing’ anti flying ads
Cute, furry and vulnerable despite being the largest land dwelling carnivore species on the planet, polar bears have become icons for climate change. Now they are being used in a controversial new anti flying campaign by the environmental activist group Plane Stupid. If it’s attention they want, it seems to be working.
According to Plane Stupid, ‘It’s really not about polar bears anymore’, but the depiction of giant CGI bears plummeting to a grizzly end on the streets of New York City certainly makes an impression: CGI has certainly come a long way. It also makes me feel bit guilty about that last low cost flight I took across the North Sea.
'Your flight has an impact' (image source: planestupid.com)
The controversial ad – embedded for easy viewing below – is available online and will start showing in cinemas today (November 20th). The image of polar bears falling to their gruesome deaths is to discourage flying, but we shouldn’t intellectualize the imagery too much. The depiction will no doubt offend many (it’s honestly a bit September eleventhy) but after getting our attention with the falling bear bodies, the real message is brought home: flying – even short trips – produces a lot of greenhouse gases (400 kg or 880 lbs). And as of yet, there’s just no making light of that.
Polar Bear from Plane Stupid on Vimeo.
Read more about the controversial ad campaign in this article from the Guardian.
By Graham Land
Also regarding Plane Stupid’s polar bear ad from the Guardian:
Plane Stupid’s shock ads linking flights with polar bear deaths could fall flat: High-octane drama of polar bears tumbling to a bloody death may leave viewers feeling manipulated by propaganda
Tags: ad, controversial, flying, Plane Stupid, polar bear
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