Earlier this month Green Unplugged in London attracted participants from the Green Communicators LinkedIn.com global community. For me, the value of humor over “thou shalt nots” to motivate and connect was reinforced as a conference take-away.
While serious subjects require serious attention, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report and more recently @BPGlobalPR demonstrate that humor is an effective communications tool for Grammar of Green.
Humor and passion for the environment seemed less siloed to the Commonwealth and European audience members. Maybe the lingering remnants of our Puritan heritage require that we separate doing good from having fun. I hope these examples provide examples for change in that regard.
Changing habbits. Habbits are humanoid forms with body parts distorted relative to the environmental impact of common activities. Each body part is assigned to one impact and are grown where an individual’s impact is higher. Habbits has been adopted by staff at the Greater London Authority and Canon Europe committed to reducing their personal carbon footprint. This program is delivered by London Leader Rob Holdway and Giraffe Innovation, in association with the London Sustainable Development Commission’s 2009 London Leaders. Holdway spoke at Green Unplugged. www.changinghabbits.co.uk
Green Thing. Supported by people from 205 countries, Green Thing is a public service using a squid-headed character to inspire greener lives, focusing on seven things you can do and enjoy doing. Green Thing co-founder Andy Hobsbawn also covered the Buy Nothing™ campaign. www.dothegreenthing.com/amazero
Wombats. This 2005 message from The Foundation for Global Community shared by Dave Hampton is short and memorable. It’s hard to ignore the dancing wombat’s case for avoiding doom by recognizing we are all connected on one planet. www.globalcommunity.org/flash/wombat.shtml
What are your effective Grammar of Green humor examples?