Environmentalists dressed as Star Wars Stormtroopers took over Old Street’s Silicon Roundabout, London, on Tuesday 28 June as Greenpeace launched its latest guerrilla marketing stunt.
The stunt was timed to coincide with the launch of a campaign protesting against car manufacturer Volkswagen’s allegedly poor environmental record and opposition to European environmental laws.
Climbers scaled the structure above the roundabout, unfurling banners over advertising hoardings paid for by Budweiser and Schweppes. The banner displays an image of Star Wars’ Darth Vader sporting the VW logo and reads “Volkswagen. The Dark Side.”
The global protest campaign includes a spoof of VW’s own hugely popular internet and TV ad featuring a mini Darth Vader. In Greenpeace’s take on the ad, viewed 250,000 times on YouTube, other young Star Wars characters challenge the mini Darth Vader in an attempt to lure him away from the dark side, while a VW-branded Death Star threatens the earth. The ad has since been removed by YouTube because of a copyright dispute with Star Wars maker LucasFilm.
Volkswagen has expressed surprise at the criticisms levelled by Greenpeace and defended its environmental record. VW spokesperson Kate Thomson says: “The Volkswagen Group has brought down C02 emissions of its new EU27 vehicle fleet from 166 grams to 144 grams, corresponding to a reduction of more than 13 per cent.”
It is also stated that the group’s range boasts over 20 models that emit less than 100 grams of CO2 per kilometre.
“Furthermore, talks were held between Volkswagen and Greenpeace about two weeks ago. In an e-mail sent by Greenpeace to the Volkswagen Press Office, Greenpeace made positive comments on Volkswagen’s progress in reducing C02 emmissions,” says Thomson.
Greenpeace’s decision to stage the stunt in an area know as London’s technology hub ensured extensive coverage in the Twittersphere – Old Street, Stormtroopers and #vwdarkside became trending topics throughout the morning.
to magazine
