ThePanelist.com - Marketing in the Big Green

Marketing in the Big Green

Written by Ryan Babenzien

Tuesday, 24 July 2007

I recently read an article in the Wall Street Journal about the luxury car market and its Green-ness. Yes, I made that word up. It's a very clever thing these car companies do; they use the power of words to evoke a sense of environmental responsibility. Here are a few of my favorite phrases in the marketing material (you'll get a prize if you guess which slogan goes with which car company):

"With power comes responsibility"
"Progressive performance"
"Co2 Champion"
"Efficient dynamics"

I think it's great that car companies are being forced to change, which is what we encourage here at The Panelist (we are the Tony Soprano of the socially responsible investing community). But really, we're smarter than this, aren't we? I don't know the numbers, but I would imagine that most of the cars that are being promoted with these catchy little collections of words are just as damaging to the environment as last year's models. It's a change in marketing material, playing into the big green, and not really a change in the efficiency of the cars.

We're a reasonable site, so riding a kick scooter to and from work in the rain everyday is not what I'm suggesting. There is a level of damage that comes with practicality. But awareness is the key to change, or at least that's what they tell me in therapy, and I'm making you aware that you should not buy into everything you read. Including this post, perhaps.