I get it. Green is the new black. Suddenly every multinational company is “green”. Not because they really are, but because they say they are. Talking the talk, but not walking the walk.
Take the new Eat Local campaign Hellmann’s is running right now. The intention is a good one, because eating local is a big deal, but Hellmann’s is owned by Unilever, a company who has drawn criticism for deforestation, human rights and other environmental slip ups. We’re all consumers who want to do the right thing, but don’t talk to us like we don’t know what’s going on. Don’t buy into this greenwashing or any without looking under the hood to see what’s really going on.
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This is a really bad view to take on this in my opinion.
We rant and we rave that companies need to do their part and give back to our communities, and then pick them apart when they take steps in the right direction.
I think we need to look at the full case – don't fall for propaganda, but don't assume it either. We are talking about a branding campaign – if there is a concern and all we do is look at the advertisements, then we don't know whether the company walks the walk or just talks the talk. It reminds me a bit of McDonalds' effort to rebrand themselves as a "healthy" option – sure they added apple slices instead of their incredibly unhealthy french fries, but the dipping sauce for the apples? If I recall correctly, it's caramel?
We need to set the bar high for companies and their social consciousness; that being said, we can't take a 30 second commercial or a 1 page add and tell anything about the company (positive or negative). One hopes that in this case it is true that "Marketing isn't so much lying as anticipating the truth," but as in anything, we need to get beyond sound bites to determine the real substance of the matter.