Environmental charity Greenpeace has German car maker, Volkswagen, in its sights this week.
The charity has produced a spoof of the firm’s famous Star Wars ad-the most successful viral internet ad in history-to challenge the car maker over its environmental record.
According to a new report from Greenpeace, Europe’s biggest car maker undermines its carefully crafted a family-friendly image by failing to live up to its claim to be ‘the most eco-friendly car maker in the world’- a claim it made as part of a sustainability report in 2009.
The new report from Greenpeace reveals that the car maker has been lobbying against key environmental laws in Europe and has failed to reduce the petrol consumption of its cars as quickly as other volume car makers. Greenpeace says the firm is the key player in an industry group, ACEA, which is lobbying to block a key European greenhouse gas initiative – the proposal to reduce emissions by 30 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020. In a letter to Greenpeace in February 2011, Volkswagen claimed this legislation would lead to ‘the de-industrialisation of Europe’. But a new 30 per cent target is supported by the governments of Denmark, the UK, Portugal, Sweden and Greece who believe it would make Europe’s economy stronger and greener.
Furthermore the firm is criticised for not using its ‘BlueMotion’ environmentally-friendly technologies as standard across its range of cars to help reduce fuel consumption and fuel costs for customers. Just 6 per cent of the cars it sold in 2010 were its most efficient models.
Volkswagen’s ad, featuring a mini Darth Vader scored nearly forty million views on one YouTube alone after being launched in the half-time ad break during this year’s Superbowl. Greenpeace has spoofed the ad using a cast of young Star Wars fans viewed at www.VWdarkside.com
Speaking at the launch of the campaign Emma Gibson from Greenpeace said:
"Volkswagen has spent millions on its new advert, using children and Star Wars iconography to persuade the public that it’s a responsible company. It was a stunningly successful advert, so VW can hardly complain if we now turn its own tactics back on the company to shine a light on its poor environmental record.”
“There is good in VW, its customers tend to care about the environment more than most, and VW is so big that it could change the global car industry if it used its size to roll out cleaner vehicles and push for clean energy laws instead of blocking them. We hope our new campaign makes Volkswagen turn away from the dark side and be the company its customers want it to be."
