Greenpeace France's latest ad campaign parodies scenarios from horror movies to put the Spotlight on the causes of climate change.
The "Change the Scenario" campaign is a trilogy that uses horror tropes with plastic, fossil fuels and deforestation acting as the villains.
Greenpeace is not known for sugarcoating the grim realities of climate change.
In "Plastic Attack," a woman lounging by the pool and sipping a cocktail watches as a flying plastic bag floats in the air, carried by gusts of wind. Her face is suddenly covered by the plastic, reminiscent of a cold-blooded killer suffocating their victim.
A man in the pool is then viciously engulfed by the big inflatable pink swan he was sitting on. The swan’s head turns to face him before the kill channels the famous "The Exorcist" scene.
A message is then shown: "We ingest up to 5 grams of plastic a week without realizing it."
"Total Love" shows the silhouettes of a couple chasing each other on the beach. A very common opening scene in horror movies wherein the lovely couple is sure to die.
What seems to be a romantic moment becomes grotesque when they are shown kissing while covered in black goo in a barren wasteland.
The message reads: "Despite the climate crisis, oil consumption continues to break records.”
Think "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" meets deforestation awareness. "Death Forestation" shows a madman violently swinging his chainsaw to cut trees, akin to a mass murderer's rampage.
The brutal scene ends with a drone shot of a vast forest devoid of trees, similar to the rural setting of a slasher flick.
The closing message: "An area the size of a soccer field is deforested every two seconds worldwide."
Each short film ends with a simple question and a response that makes the message frighteningly clear.
"This scenario sucks? Reality is worse."
Greenpeace's use of these familiar horror tropes and attention-grabbing messages makes the message resonate, even with those who might otherwise tune out.
"We want to raise awareness about the urgent need to change the scenario of ecological disaster. To write a different story, we need to radically change the rules of our system, which is exacerbating climate change, widening inequalities and destroying biodiversity," concluded Laurence Veyne, communications director at Greenpeace France.
