Countries around the world are starting to put pressure on corporations that are pollutive or do harm to human health by rolling out a set of new advertising bans that cover everything from fossil fuels and SUVs to e-cigarettes and alcohol. While the tactic isn’t new, these bans are increasingly putting pressure on some of the biggest polluters in the world and could negatively impact their reputations, while simultaneously helping in the fight against climate change.

A Ban on Fossil Fuel Advertisements in More Than One Country

Just last month, the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, passed a law banning fossil fuel advertisements on city properties, according to a story in The Washington Post. That advertising ban includes everything from airlines, airports, cruises, fossil fuel companies, their sub-brands, and lobbying firms, to car advertisements showing off the latest gas or diesel-powered SUV. There are exceptions made for hybrid and battery-electric vehicles, but plug-in-hybrids, which have recently been under scrutiny for just how much they actually cut down on pollution, are also included in the ban. The council passed the ban and targeted “business activities/practices which do not align with the Council’s policies, values, objectives and strategic coals, such as the Council’s net-zero targets.” Edinburgh has publicly promised to aim to become a net zero city by 2030, stating, “we want to remove the same amount of greenhouse gases that we, as a city, put into the air.”

Edinburgh isn’t alone in its efforts either, as the Washington Post points out. Cities like Amsterdam and Sydney have also targeted fossil fuel and high-emission product advertisements. Amsterdam announced a similar ban in 2021, targeting ads in subway stations and around the city, that, according to reporting by EuroNews, “portray fossil fuels as normal.” The World Federation of Advertisers proclaimed that these kinds of bans were an emerging trend after Amsterdam’s ban passed. In 2022 Sydney, Australia, followed suit, banning coal, oil, and gas from being advertised at events around the city, after more than 200 health professionals and organizations signed an open letter citing the impact that fossil fuels have on human health.

Other places have taken a more piecemeal approach to the issue. France has a partial ban on oil and gas advertisements, and places like Canada and Ireland have bills currently working through their respective legislatures that would also partially ban petroleum and gas advertising in specific places. The UK has a law on the books that restricts the kinds of language that fossil fuel companies can use to advertise their products.

Beyond Politics

More recently, the UN has called for a ban on fossil fuel ads, when just last month, António Guterres, the secretary general of the UN, made a speech in New York, calling for banning coal, petroleum and gas products.

From the corporate media side, companies like Vox, The Guardian, and Le Monde have also banned oil and gas advertisements in the last few years, and increasingly other publications, including NPR and CNN, have come under fire for running fossil fuel ads alongside coverage of the climate crisis. Companies like The New York Times take a more piecemeal approach, banning oil and gas ads from their climate newsletters and their Daily podcast, though some of those advertisements have snuck through, according to reporting at The Guardian.

Not An Uncommon Practice

While it may seem surprising to ban ads for specific products, especially since so many companies rely on advertising spend to stay afloat, it's not uncommon. Plenty of cities and towns around the world have certain bans on outdoor advertising, including billboards, and back in the 1970s, the US passed a ban on advertising cigarettes on television and radio. That ban has since expanded to include things like vapes, e-cigarettes, and other nicotine products as well, especially in light of recent evidence that suggests that nicotine vape makers target children with the variety of flavors that they offer. Sixty other countries have also banned cigarette advertising, according to The Guardian.

In the US, there are also strict rules around advertising alcohol, and the World Health Organization has an initiative called SAFER, whose mission is to “enforce bans or comprehensive restrictions on alcohol advertising, sponsorship and promotion.”

Pushback from the Oil and Gas Industry

According to both The Washington Post and The Guardian, there has been pushback from the oil and gas industries on these collective bans. The companies argue that they are focused on moving the technology toward greener options like wind and solar. It’s important to note that big companies like BP, have a significant footprint in green technologies all around the world, and some are starting to call “peak oil,” meaning that they see an increasing decline in reliance on pollutive fossil fuels. According to reporting at The Washington Post, a spokesperson from the American Petroleum Institute said “Our industry is focused on continuing to produce affordable, reliable energy while tackling the climate challenge, and any allegations to the contrary are false.”

There is also some limited evidence around how much of an impact the bans will have on consumer sentiment towards oil and gas companies. Tobacco advertising bans have had some impact on consumption in developing countries, according to a 2008 study in the Journal of Health Economics, but there have been limited studies since. Tobacco companies have also pushed most of their advertising online, and targeted kids on social media, paying influencers to surreptitiously push their products. A 2022 study out of USC’s Keck School showed that social media tobacco advertising does have a direct impact on usage. The WHO encourages all countries to ban tobacco advertising, under an international treaty signed in 2003.

It is safe to assume that as these oil and gas advertising bans go into action around the world, oil and gas companies will increasingly push their advertising elsewhere to find a way around them, just like the tobacco companies have.

The Takeaway on Oil and Gas Advertising Bans

Bans on oil and gas advertising present one more way that counties and cities are fighting back against climate change and making the public more aware of the impact that petroleum products have on our environment. As countries and cities around the world begin to crack down on advertising for pollutive technologies, consumer sentiment could shift, but it will take time to see results.

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