Fake adverts have popped up throughout the town calling for a ban on companies using fossil fuels and encouraging people to stop using airlines.
Climate activists from the Brandalism network have replaced regular with posters reading ‘stop adverts fuelling the climate crisis’ and ‘stop advertising promoting our own self-destruction’ in their latest campaign.
The posters are accompanied by the hashtags #BanFossilAds and #StayGrounded.
The group Adblock Reading supports the message of these actions and has called on Reading Borough Council to take action against advertising polluting products in the town.
Lucy Harding from Adblock Reading said: “Councils around the world such as Sheffield, Cambridgeshire, Amsterdam, Stockholm and Sydney are all taking action against adverts for polluting products.
“Forward-thinking boroughs like Reading have declared a climate emergency and have admirable goals to become carbon neutral by 2030.
“We need to ensure that all the council’s policies support that goal, including the types of products the council allows to be advertised on ad sites it controls.
“This also especially applies to the energy wastage of backlit hoardings that are in operation every day and night of the year.
“Advertising by airports and airlines normalises air travel and frequent flying with a superficial glamour without regard to its growing climate impacts.”
Airlines specifically have been targeted in the latest campaign, with messaging being coordinated by the Stay Grounded and Badvertising campaign groups.
Stay Grounded claim that ‘flying is the fastest way to fry the planet’.
Hannah Lawrence from the organisation said: “The aviation industry uses adverts to deceive people into thinking flying can be green when, in fact, the only green plane is one that stays grounded.
“While their greenwashing adverts delay meaningful climate action, those who have never even set foot on a plane bear the biggest burden from climate breakdown. We need an urgent ban on airline advertising and measures to fairly reduce the number of flights that take off.”
The displays were hijacked last week but have since been removed by sign owners JCDecaux.
A spokesperson for the firm said, “As soon as we were made aware of this flyposting, we sent our teams out to repost these sites.
“It’s important to note that flyposting and vandalism damage a valuable community resource – people may not be aware that the poster advertising funds the bus shelters and the ongoing cleaning and repairs – costs that would otherwise have to be met by local taxpayers.”
The spokesperson also pointed out that a recent study by Outsmart/KPMG found that Out-of-Home advertising is the most sustainable advertising medium, with 50% of advertising revenues going back into the community and with out-of-home advertising responsible for only 3.3% of UK advertising’s power consumption and just 3.5% of its carbon footprint.
Reading Borough Council has been approached for comment.
