Kate noticed an airline advertisement as she walked out of the station.
Two people were taking pictures of a billboard while she was on her way home. I thought it was a normal airline ad. Then I took a second look.
More than 500 advertising sites have been filled with satirical artworks highlighting how flying is fueling the climate crisis and how the advertising industry is helping cover it up.
In the last few days, activists have pasted over the usual paid-for adverts with artworks highlighting the climate trashing effects of the aviation industry in a number of European cities.
There is a billboard in Seven Sisters. It showed the view across an outstretched aircraft wing as it soared through the sky.
Is it a good idea to fly safely? It said it was creating a less sustainable future. The airline's logo was in the right corner. It said that they were being sued for greenwashing. The airline is being sued for misleading advertisements.
Activists pasted up posters targeting the airlines Air France, Lufthansa, British Airways, Ryanair, EasyJet, SAS Airlines, and Iata.
The large carbon footprint of flying, that the majority of flights are taken by a tiny fraction of the total population, and that airlines have missed all but one of the industry's self-imposedsustainability targets are all highlighted by them.
Activists and artists from the anonymous Brandalism group and the Subvertisers International network used all but one of the sites. Videos shot by the group show activists wearing hi-vis vests and Covid-style face masks working with telescopic ladders.
Despite one of the hottest summers on record, the appeal and glamour of high-carbon lifestyles such as frequent flying has not waned.
The role that advertising agencies play in driving up emissions for airlines they work for needs to be considered. We want employees in those firms to refuse high carbon work.
Kate didn't want to give her name for work reasons, but she was impressed by the campaign. She said that a lot of other people will experience that as well, and that it sticks in their minds more.
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