Protesters from activist group Extinction Rebellion yesterday (8 October) occupied the lobby of Havas’ London offices, releasing a set of balloons to the ceiling as they slammed the agency’s contract with Shell.
Protestors also played songs such as ‘Shell Kills’ to the tune of Dolly Parton’s Jolene, while other activists stayed outside the building distributing messages to staff.
Havas took on Shell’s media buying account in September 2023, a move which has subsequently led to a raft of protests.
It comes after the UN Secretary General António Guterres slammed the advertising sector for its contribution to the fossil fuel sector earlier this year, describing “mad men fuelling the madness” and calling fossil fuel firms the “godfathers of climate chaos”.
One of the protesters, Camden-based digital marketing specialist Rob Currie, said: “We hope Havas people enjoy our temporary creative installation – we want it to be a reminder that there are people who want to stand for better.”
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“When the UN secretary-general is calling out your business model and your people aren’t happy either, it’s definitely time to rethink your client roster. We’re not going to stop turning up until Havas stops greenwashing for Shell.”
The international agency a lost its B Corp status after industry activist group Clean Creatives called for a review over its links with Shell. More than 1,000 agencies have signed up to Clean Creatives’ pledge to not work with fossil fuel clients.
The four agencies that lost their B Corp status include Havas London, Havas Lemz, Havas New York and Havas Immerse.
The protest at Havas coincides with Shell appearing in the Court of Appeal as part of a case regarding damage from Nigerian oil spills allegedly attributed to the multinational’s Nigerian subsidiary SPDC.
Another of the protesters, Camden-based director of photography Anna Valdez said the agency was “taking Shell’s dirty money and putting profit before its people. Companies like Shell depend on the creativity of agency staff to spread their greenwashing hot air. We know that many Havas employees are unhappy working for Big Oil.”
“We think their clients are going to start to challenge this too – organisations like the BBC and Ocado are not going to want to work with the people who work with the big climate killers – it’s just too close for comfort.”
Images credit: Claudia Leisinger
