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JC Decaux B2B Marketing

Artists and Activitists Put Their Own Brand on the Paris Climate Change Conference

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By Laurie Fullerton, Freelance Writer

December 4, 2015 | 2 min read

Activisim took a more sophisticated direction this week with the launch of the UN COP21 Climate Conference in Paris, as 600 posters were installed throughout the city mocking corporations and leaders in very clever and direct ways.

Spearheaded by the Brandalism project, prior to the conference, they had asked 82 Artists from 19 different countries to illustrate the connections between advertising, the promotion of consumerism and climate change.

Because the French state of emergency shut down all public gatherings following the terrorist attacks on 13 November, the Brandalism project inserted unauthorised artworks throughout Paris – using ad spaces owned by JC Decaux – one of the world’s largest outdoor advertising firms and a sponsor of the climate talks.

Prominent corporate sponsors were not spared as Air France, GDF Suez (Engie) and Dow Chemicals were mocked in the posters with ad copy, for example, for Air France saying, “Tackling climate change? Of course not. We are an airline” and the like.

While most of the ads were meant to parody "corporate villains," some of the artists lambasted world leaders as well including U.S. President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, French President François Hollande and British Finance Minister George Osborne. They, along with a handful of other politicians, were all featured in Brandalism's campaign.

“By sponsoring the climate talks, majorpolluters such as Air France and GDF-Suez-Engie can promote themselves as part of the solution – when actually they are part of the problem," said Joe Elan from Brandalism in an earlier interview.

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