Green Transportation - Does Car Advertising Glut Deter Demand?

Saw an interesting article in Politics Daily that questioned if America’s car culture was dying. Author Delia Lloyd reported that recent car sales volume fell 21.2% from 2008, the lowest volume since 1982. The question arises if this the beginning of the end for America’s love affair with cars.

Granted, the economy was a factor in these findings. In fact, I think it’s the single-most significant factor, even though I agree with Lloyd’s assessment that eco-conscious citizens are looking to alternate forms of transportation. She also reports that environmental advocate Tom Bogdanowicz says that people will not seek more ecofriendly transportation as long as advertising for car purchases outpaces advertising for alternates. Bogdanowicz also suggests that governments should limit car advertising as they have for alcohol (though in the United States, any limits are barely noticeable) and tobacco because then people would make a “common sense” decision, such as when they were made aware of the health impacts of drinking and smoking. This is such a loaded concept, covering everything from how addictive behavior works to the effects of such governmental action on the labor force employed by the auto industry, that I could not possibly cover it in a few short paragraphs.

These anti-advertising sentiments, sometimes bordering on anti-capitalistic, crop up every now and again in the green scene. So let’s look at it a little more closely as it relates to cars.

It’s not only the volume of advertising that causes an obsession with gas-guzzling automobiles, it’s the message. Lloyd correctly observes that Americans’ national identity with freedom is embodied in the ownership of a home and car. In my opinion, any advertising for alternates that hammers away at how good they are for the earth or society will fall on deaf ears in the United States. Watch the bulk of car ads and you’ll see that they focus on independence and freedom from worry, high expense, inconvenience, poor image, or even inhibitions (such as with sports cars). As well, Americans are staunch individualists. So ads for greener transport, in order to make a dent in our environmental problems, must focus on independence, freedoms, and individuality in addition to or instead of ecofriendly or socially conscious themes.

Also have to question why greener transportation alternatives are not being advertised with the same gusto as gas guzzlers. Are they unprofitable products? Do they not generate sales? Those are questions only the automakers can answer. And what do we mean by greener alternatives? Hybrids, electric cars, bicycles, carpooling, walking, or ride sharing? That is an expansive list that would cover advertisers in auto manufacturing, government agencies, and NGOs (non-governmental organizations). And if collectively their advertising is not outpacing the standard car advertising volume, that points to either their refusal to use advertising or their lack of funding to do so.

I also take issue with the idea that demand for cars is primarily fueled by advertising. This is just not the case. Take illicit drugs for example. Are those being “advertised” in the traditional media sense? No. Yet there is a serious trade of them going on in many communities. Secondly, advertising’s goal is to put the marketing message in front of an audience who has the need and desire to buy the benefits of what the product or service offers. As well, the variety of personal and societal factors that go into making a large purchase such as an automobile are legion. Advertising cannot alone drive all those factors.

Further, today’s advertising landscape is so much more complex than it has been in the past. What media is being used to cause the car buying addiction? Television? Print? Billboards? Social media? If it works that well, I’m sure advertisers everywhere, green or gas-guzzling, will want to know what it is!

No, I do not believe that an overabundance of car advertising is to blame for people not selecting greener transport. It is an overabundance of individuals acting individually. And in a country such as the United States that was built on the strength of the individual, earth-friendly transport initiatives are often a tough sell.

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