Introduction
In the industry, greenwashing is described as a brand’s unjustifiable and deceptive assertion that its product is more ecologically friendly than it is. People can view this in a variety of ways, including obvious deceit, covert advertising, and typically as bold statements with no full disclosure of the actual consequences. These days, Greenwashing is a developing topic, as unscrupulous businesses try to profit from the growing demand for environmentally friendly and ethical goods and other items.
Advertisement Description
An advertisement of a Fiji drinking water company was selected for analysis. It is also worth noting the fact that the chosen advertising company was criticized because it contained potentially misleading phrases. This advertising image was found on the Internet among other advertising posters of this company. In order to analyze this advertisement in the best way, it is necessary to describe its main elements. The background of the image is a barely noticeable gradient that turns from white to pale blue. In the foreground on the right is an image of a bottle with a large inscription “Fiji” and the explanation “natural artesian water,” which is the bottle’s label. Also, it is noticeable how the branch of the plant wraps around the bottle. On the left is a large blue caption “Earth protects Fiji. And vice versa.”, which in turn is the main advertising slogan. Below is an additional explanatory note “Introducing the world’s first carbon negative water.” It is used in order to provide more credibility to a potential client.
Messages the Artifact is Sending Its Audience
In its advertising, the main message that the company seeks to convey to a potential customer is that Fiji is safe for nature. This is determined by absolutely all elements of the analyzed advertising. It should be noted that the Fiji brand water is quite premium, so the company needs to create the necessary image for the buyer, which would cause the purchase of quite expensive water. From the advertising image, it becomes clear to the viewer that this is the world’s first water with negative carbon content. Thus, in addition to the water itself, the company sells its customers the feeling that they will be able to take care of nature and reduce carbon emissions in the atmosphere. This feeling is reinforced by an advertising slogan, which aims to prove the interaction of nature and Fiji, thereby reinforcing the client’s image of a “green” brand. In addition, this idea is supported by the image on which the plant wraps around the bottle, which further creates an image of the inseparability of the company’s water and nature itself.
Tactics
Significant industrial associations, especially those that actively influence the environment, have learned to use environmental issues and natural images to solve their commercial and reputational tasks. In their communication messages, they emphasize in various ways their social responsibility for preventing negative impacts on the environment and organizing measures to protect it. First of all, Fiji tries to avoid acidic colors and geometric shapes in the design of marketing materials since they are directly associated with the manufactured world. In addition, the company goes further and completely rethinks the concept of packaging, which makes its core value through the slogan. In this case, the visual component is just an illustration of the verbal slogan, which bears the main value load. It is worth noting that those graphics reserve an exclusively aesthetic role. This is quite acceptable if the illustration is original enough to hold the viewer’s attention so much that he will condescend to read the accompanying text.
Implications of the Messages
The fact is that any eco-goods only confuse buyers if they are not told what they are needed for. Moreover, if social advertising highlights world problems, and sometimes quite darkly, then green marketing should act through lucid, optimistic green advertising, promoting the idea of eco-friendly consumption, turning it into an attractive fashion trend (Szabo and Webster 721). People’s propensity for natural, natural, and eco-friendly goods and services is primarily explained by the desire to control life in an increasingly unpredictable, dynamic, manufactured, and stressful world (Lukinović and Jovanović 16). Today, millions of people in the country use the Internet, and many are actively expanding their circle of interests, reading blogs, joining thematic communities.
The first green advertising and eco-goods will be appreciated by people who are tired of stereotypes accustomed to having their own opinion. Thus, the advertising that Fiji promotes is designed to create a kind of responsibility for the environment for buyers. Such an approach can affect people’s responsibility towards nature, but there are also negative aspects that are misleading (Szabo and Webster 734). Therefore, deception in green advertising can lead to a loss of confidence on the part of buyers not only in Fiji but also in general to eco-friendly products.
Conclusion
Fiji strives to provide potential customers with the feeling that they will be able to take the best care of nature by choosing their water. To do this, the company uses various language techniques, which are reflected in the slogan. All this is supported by an image that creates an effective image that affects customers. Thus, Fiji should be fully aware of its responsibility in view of the fact that deception in advertising can lead to negative consequences not only for the brand but also for the eco-friendly products industry as a whole.
Works Cited
Szabo, Szerena, and Jane Webster. “Perceived Greenwashing: The Effects of Green Marketing on Environmental and Product Perceptions.” Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 171, 2020, pp. 719–739, doi:10.1007/s10551-020-04461-0.
Lukinović, M., and L. Jovanović. “Greenwashing – Fake Green/Environmental Marketing.” Fundamental and Applied Researches in Practice of Leading Scientific Schools, vol. 33, no. 3, 2019, pp. 15–17, doi:10.33531/farplss.2019.3.04.