NBC turned off studio lights during Sunday night's NFL pre-game, post-game and half-game shows to kick off their "Green is Universal" initiative, a week of environmentally themed programming, and changed all their logos to green. The effort is in support of GE's ongoing "Ecomagination" campaign to raise awareness of environmental issues. The network reported on energy conservation efforts and invited the audience at home to turn off the lights in one room in support. However well-intentioned, to many viewers, the effort was, at best, intrusive and preachy, and at worst, evidence of a liberal media conspiracy.
Rush Limbaugh said he turned on all the lights in his home in response and HotAir.com called NBC's green show "a pointless, self-serving enviro gimmick," adding that "any energy savings were more than outweighed by the jet fuel that got burned up flying NBC's vapid anchors, Lauer, Al Roker and Ann Curry plus crews and gears to remote locations."
Outsidethebeltway wrote "I'm all in favor of turning off lights you're not using, building more energy efficient machines, and that sort of thing. But...people tune into football games to get away from this nonsense. We don't want an After School Special."
Even some liberal bloggers did not think NBC's effort was entirely believable. "People who view the NBC action as disingenuous and politically motivated are probably not without standing," wrote Colin McEnroe. "NBC tried to make the preposterously loud and garishly gaudy NFL a little bit green on Sunday night...even I have to admit there's something a little incongruous. It's like asking Fran Leibowitz and John Waters to participate in a Smoke Out. Or Wisconsin to adopt a statewide No Cheese Day. One of NBC's commentators called the unlit studio "spooky and a little strange."
NBC's experience underscores the difficulty of successfully executing a green strategy, especially for large companies. Political partisanship aside, 70% of Americans say green advertising is just a marketing tactic, according to Ipsos-Reid. Some feel companies should adopt environmental and energy friendly policies as a matter of business practice. Even companies who are sincerely instituting green initiatives risk scorn and indifference.
Brands should not shy away from a green strategy if it makes sense but one campaign and on-air event does not a green company make. Companies have to convince people that their greenness is an authentic brand equity and that they're in it for the long haul. NBC might have achieved a more positive response if they had announced actual results rather than staging what many viewed as a largely symbolic gesture that involved little company sacrifice.
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