Space/Territory Needs: Nature

People have a sense of territoriality, a possessive relationship to the space around them from the neighborhood to the nation and nature.

In the widest sense of space and territory, people have a need or a desire to relate to nature, to the earth, to the universe. The earth is beautiful and delightful to our senses. Art and writings of all cultures confirm that people respond to this beauty.

But, people often romanticize nature with their dreams of a tranquil pastoral scene, a pleasant Arcadia, a garden of Eden paradise (while downplaying some of the "bad" realities: storms, droughts- "Nature red in fang and claw.") American literature has both the traditions of stark Midwestern realism and the more widespread romantic attitude which is usually reflected in advertising.

Two common ways ads can use words and images of nature:(1) as a generally pleasant background association for any product (e.g. clothes, cars); (2) as a background for products specifically related to the outdoors (e.g. camping gear, boots, travel).

Recently, another way is that of "green marketing" which is the term used for ads specifically related to environmental issues, especially in their claims about conservation and recycling.

As late as the 1950s in America, common images (seen in ads and news photos) showed factory smokestacks belching smoke as being symbols of urban power, hard work, industry, and success. Scenes of strip-mining the tops off of mountains and clear-cutting forests like a lawn mower were shown as triumphant symbols of power, of our country's frontier spirit, of "taming the wilderness," of putting empty land to "good use."

We no longer see this kind of imagery because the environmental movement starting in the 1960s created a public awareness of the problems of pollution and destruction.

Now we see the corporations (oil and chemical companies, timber and mining interests), which are most involved in these issues, spending millions in advertising to tell us how much they care for the environment.

When certain words get a "halo effect," then everyone wants to identify themselves and their products with them. Much controversy exists in "green" labeling (about recycling) -- about the definitions, arguments over kind and degree -- because these are complex issues, with big money at stake. These two basic issues involve products and producers

The product issue involves whether the consumer product itself can be recycled, so as to avoid waste and destruction. FTC regulations have tried somewhat to establish common standards and terms, so that key words and images (re-cycle arrows) are printed on the product.

The producer issue, more complex, involves whether the producers (oil, chemical, timber, mining) are exploiting, destroying, or polluting the earth and seas.

No one wants to be seen as a polluter. So, the corporate ads focus on issues of kind ("We're doing the right thing, the right way.") or degree ("not too much"). Environmentalist critics, of course, reply "it's the wrong thing" or the "wrong degree."

Corporations often run two kinds of ads: corporate "feel-good" ads and "advocacy" ads.

Feel-good ads are usually vague and general, but they can emphasize how much the company does to protect the environment, or how beneficial they are to society.

Advocacy ads relate to specific policies (offshore oil drilling, clear-cut logging, "mixed use" nature reserves) and seek to influence the political process directly by asking people to respond by writing to their Senators or Representatives. Often, such advocacy ads are not broadcast to general audiences, but are targeted only on specific audiences (by direct mail, magazines) already likely to be "on their side" and likely to exert political pressure.

Key Words:

animals
beach
conserve, conservation earth
environment, environmental
farm
fields
flowers
forests
frontier
grassy
green
idyllic
lake
moon
mountains
nature, natural
ocean
organic
outdoors
pastoral
plains
prairies
preserve
primitive
protect
recycle
rustic
sea
shore
sky
snowy
stars
streams
sun, sunny, sunshine
surf
unspoiled
untamed
untouched
wild, wilderness, wildlife woods

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