Some 45% of Irish citizens believe that the world would be ‘better off’ without advertising, according to a study by The Good Life 2030 Ireland project.
The report, which sought to uncover what Irish people felt a ‘good life’ looks like for them in the year 2030 and the role of advertising in supporting this, also found that more than three quarters (77%) believe that the advertising industry should ‘help people lead healthy, sustainable lives’.
Some 42% said the they believed that the advertising industry promoted an ‘image of life that is harmful for people in Ireland’, although a similar number (39%) answered that they were ‘unsure’ about this.
The Good Life 2030 Ireland project, funded by Creative Ireland as part of the Creative Climate Action Fund, was developed by Purpose Disruptors, an organisation founded by former marketing, media and advertising industry leaders, and marketing firm Thinkhouse.
Advertising’s ‘true potential’
“The question ‘what is a good life?’ has preoccupied humans across time,” commented Laura Costello, head of sustainability and planet services at Thinkhouse and Ireland lead at Purpose Disruptors. “As an industry our collective answer to this question has leaned in one direction for long enough.
“It’s time for our industry to realise its true potential – to shift our focus in service of a thriving future. As architects of desire, the advertising industry shapes our cultural understanding of a life worth wanting. Science states we need to halve emissions by 2030.
“But 2030 has an image problem. People aren’t emotionally connecting to the future we need to create. The invitation now is for those in the marketing, advertising and media industry to embrace our unique expertise and our responsibility to rethink what’s being sold and imagine a new ‘good life’ story that serves all living systems. A 2030 Good Life is ours to create.”
‘Must try harder’
Elsewhere, Ireland‘s advertising industry appears to display awareness that it needs to ‘try harder’, recent research conducted by IAPI (Institute of Advertising Practitioners of Ireland), in support of the Good Life 2030 Ireland project has found.
It found that 57% of Ireland’s advertising sector doesn’t believe that the industry ‘is currently doing all it can to create a sustainable world,’ with just 18% of the industry believing that they are ‘doing all they can’. The remaining 24% ‘don’t know.’
Allied to this, 90% of the industry recognises that Ireland’s advertising industry ‘has an important role in changing consumer behaviours.’
“We must harness the superpower of the ad industry, generating a desire for ways of living and working that supports a good life for everyone,” Charley Stoney, chief executive of IAPI added.
