Oops! Oz Coal PR Campaign Causes Overall 9% Drop In Approval Of Coal Among Citizens
A major advertising campaign that claimed coal was “amazing” and had “endless possibilities” appears to have proved counter-productive, a new poll suggests.
The net approval rating of coal fell by 9% after Australia’s mining industry ran the “Little Black Rock” campaign, which began in September across TV, radio, press and online, and featured a close-up of a lump of glistening coal.
The ad claimed coal added $40bn a year to Australia’s economy and “can now reduce its emissions by up to 40%”. The tagline was: “Isn’t it amazing what this little black rock can do?” Before the ads were aired the net approval for coal was -18% but after they aired it had dropped to -27%, a net change of -9%.
“Whilst the poll didn’t explore the reasons for the drop, this did coincide with the Mineral Council of Australia’s ‘little black rock’ campaign. The drop in sentiment may well be because the campaign backfired, or because the spoof responses from various advocacy organisations were more effective than the campaign itself.”
EDIT
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/nov/06/coal-not-so-amazing-public-say-as-mining-industry-advertising-backfires
