In the recent years, Coca Cola has been pushing its recycling program. As one of the biggest beverage companies in the world, Coke sells millions of plastic bottles every year. Coke has recently released this ad where they highlight their recycling efforts. As many people may remember from the Sustainability Fair in the fall, Coke is going to great lengths to inform consumers of the company’s recycling efforts.

This message portrays many instances of consumer acquisition, use, and disposition of Coke products.  It is able to appeal to consumers’ environmental values of preserving resources. By showing how every person that drinks a Coke product contributes to the company’s recycling efforts, Coke is able to address the perceived consumer effectiveness. This is also a very relevant message to consumers with the big cultural push of sustainability. With Coke showing how individual consumers can have a virtually effortless effect on sustainability through how they choose to dispose of Coke products, the company is able to portray a favorable brand image and company reputation to its thousands of consumers.

I just came across an article from MediaPost this afternoon and thought it was perfect for the AdVirtues website. Read the article here: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=116645

This is a new partnership effort between Goodwill and Levi Strauss to encourage consumers to donate their used clothing, rather than throwing it away. BBDO West conceived this idea (as part of their pro bono work for Goodwill). Beginning in 2010, Levi’s will include a this socially responsible message on their product “care tags” (see sample above).

I think it’s a simple idea and excellent effort to persuade consumers to be both less wasteful and more selfless with their consumption. But this does raise some questions: will it work? Will consumers really pay attention to the care tag in their clothing? Will it be sufficient motivation for them to change their pattern of behavior? I think a lot of that will depend on the strength of the viral marketing effort to get the word out. Notions of “social responsibility” and “sustainability” are trendy and much-hyped lately. Ultimately, I hope consumers will heed the “care tags” so that their behavior is consistent with their “talk”.

EcoHanger Samples

Capitalizing on the trend of “going green”, a group of marketing and packaging firms (Graphics/TPG, Standard Packaging and Cleaner’s Supply) banded with investors (Sigma Partners, Kodiak Venture Partners, and ABS Ventures Partners) in 2003 to create an innovative new “Sustainable Marketing Platform”.
Personally, I think this is an innovative blend of “billboard” style marketing targeted to individual consumers (men & women that utilize dry-cleaning services) and a company effort to be environmentally conscious and socially responsible. It takes a commonplace product (dry-cleaning hangers) and modifies them to be eco-conscious (100% sustainable & recyclable) while also cleverly delivering a marketing message. In a small way, it encourages consumers to “do better” by actively using this “Ecohanger” in lieu of traditional wire hangers. Perhaps a “small thing” for one consumer, but a large cumulative effect on the environment…..and a large marketing platform as well!