This is an ad by the flight company Lufthansa which depicts a plane turning into a tree along with the words “When it comes to sustainability the sky shouldn’t be the limit”. The image makes the viewer believe that the airline company is selling flights that are eco-friendly. This ad was shown across the company’s website as while as being in ads on travel websites such as Expedia, Trivago and Kayak. The campaign led many consumers to choose this airline over other airlines when booking a ticket because the tree and wording within the picture suggested an idea of strong environmental conciseness and eco-friendly ideology. To be shown this ad is a clear violation of consumers trust which was challenged in a German court by Germanys advisement watchdog. The ad was later forced to be pulled from the company’s website and other platforms as it was “Not showing the airlines true environmental impact truthfully” The clear imagery is what got the public’s attention and made many people demand that action be taken. The use of a plant like a tree as while as the words sustainable and a picture of a bright blue sky showed a fake image of a clean safe environment while completely ignoring the fact that airlines have a huge negative impact on air quality, rising global temps as a while as pose a danger to airborne animals such as birds. For me it was personally important to highlight the use of transparent wording which very view people would read and those who did would be misled with false claims of environmentalism and climate advocacy. The advertisement has zero accountability or goals for the future of the company and how it plans on being more environmentally friendly.
Gruet, Sam. “Airline Adverts Banned over ‘greenwashing’ Claims.” BBC News, December 6, 2023. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-67625200.
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