Marketing lessons from latest Greenpeace publicity stunt

Greenpeace’s latest guerilla marketing stunt at Sunday’s Formula 1 Grand Prix ceremony raises some interesting issues about advertising censorship and the power of social over TV.

The Greenpeace video, the latest instalment of its Save the Arctic campaign, shows two remote-controlled banners being raised just as the Grand Prix winner Sebastian Vettel takes to the podium. (It’s very funny to watch, which makes it all the more shareable.)

YouTube has since taken down the video following an alleged complaint from Formula 1 over copyright infringement but you can still view the video on rival video-sharing website Vimeo.

It’s impressive how Greenpeace has managed to turn the ban to its advantage, urging people to share the video out of principle, in defence of freedom of speech and defiance of YouTube. It doesn’t seem to matter that there wasn’t any TV coverage about it either.

The news about the ban is showing up on people’s Facebook timelines and Twitter feeds, with a ‘get it before it goes’ on Vimeo too message. If anything the ban has made the video more shareable.

And in a further act of defiance, Greenpeace has uploaded a new video on YouTubeattacking the ban and showing another publicity stunt featuring 35 ‘polar bear’ activists going on a Trigger Happy TV-style rampage.
The videos also raise an interesting point about freedom of expression in marketing. Who’s to say which adverts can and can’t be shown? Plus, the ban has also got us all talking about Greenpeace, whether we agree with its aims or not.

Posted by DMA’s copywriter Smarayda Christoforou