Climate activist group Brandalism has hacked several out-of-home (OOH) ads across Europe, taking aim at Toyota and BMW ‘greenwashing’ campaigns.
Over 400 advertising billboards and posters in England, France, Germany and Belgium have been hijacked over the weekend in a bid to call out Toyota and BMW ahead of the European Motor Show in Brussels which opens its doors on its 100th anniversary.
According to Brandalism, in 2022 Toyota was ranked the tenth worst company in the world by InfluenceMap for its anti-climate lobbying, the worst ranking for any car manufacturing firm, followed by BMW who ranked 16th overall.
Both brands are reported to still be “heavily invested” in selling polluting combustion engine vehicles. The activist group found that in 2021, just 0.2% of cars sold by Toyota were Electric Vehicles (EVs).
One subverted advert for Toyota reads: “Toyota’s beyond zero means flogging gas-guzzlers for decades to come.”
Another hacked ad takes aim at ‘Mr Toyota’ and is captioned: “High carbon adverts by The&Partnership. Mr Toyota says: ‘Screw the climate!'”
Two more Toyota damning billboards include the phrases “dominate life” and “advertising for the end of times”.
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German car manufacturer BMW also feels the brunt of Brandalism’s frustrations with a Tfl hacked ad that reads: “When we test our emissions, the test dummy is you”.
Another billboard takes aim at BMW’s “Add driving pleasure” campaign, of which Brandalism changes the copy to “Add climate breakdown”.
The news comes months after the advertising activist group hacked and took over 500 billboards across Europe to criticise the role airline ads play in encouraging pollution. The various pieces of satirical artwork used aviation company names and branding to then highlight and poke fun at the damage the industry causes to the environment.
