ASA Adjudication on ExxonMobil UK Ltd

Ad

A TV ad for ExxonMobil included a statement spoken by three employees identified as Claudia Napolitano, Engineer, Alan Kelly, President, Global Lubricants and Specialities and Emma Cochrane, Natural Gas Specialist: “I think one of the biggest challenges that the world is facing today is to develop all the energy we need in an environmentally friendly way. It’s going to be vital that we develop all sources of energy to fuel the future growth of the world economy and this growing population. It’s going to be oil and gas, coal, nuclear, wind and solar. We are going to need them all. One of those examples is liquefied natural gas. Natural gas is one of the world’s cleanest fuels but most of it is found far from where it’s needed. We have a number of different technologies that we’re developing to ensure a reliable supply of natural gas for Europe. We take the gas, liquefy it and that allows us to ship it over enormous distances. ExxonMobil has found ways to transport as much as 80 per cent more liquefied gas than was possible before and bring more energy to more people all over the world”. On-screen text at the close of the ad stated “ExxonMobil Taking on the world’s toughest energy challenges”.

Issue

Four viewers, who understood that the use and production of liquefied natural gas caused significant carbon emissions, challenged whether the claim "Natural gas is one of the world's cleanest fuels" misleadingly implied liquefied natural gas was environmentally friendly.

BCAP TV Code

Response

EURO RSCG LONDON (ERL), the agency acting on behalf of ExxonMobil (Exxon), explained that the ad referred to the need "to develop all the energy we need in an environmentally friendly way" and went on to say that we will need "all sources of energy ... It's going to be oil and gas ... We are going to need them all", but made no reference either directly or implied that the sources of energy mentioned were environmentally friendly individually.  They said the statement "Natural gas is one of the world's cleanest fuels" was factually correct and did not overstate the environmental benefits of natural gas as a fuel.  They submitted an extract from the American Gas Association website, which supported their statement that natural gas was a cleaner source of energy than most other fossil fuels.  ERL explained that the claim referred to natural gas in comparison with other currently used fuels and should be judged in that context.

Clearcast said they were aware that it was difficult for Exxon to make claims about any environmental benefit and were careful, therefore, to ensure that appropriate wording was used and the claims placed in a suitable context.  They said they were satisfied that the claim "Natural gas is one of the world's cleanest fuels" was justified in comparison with other fossil fuels.  They felt that the majority of viewers would appreciate that no fossil fuel was 'clean' in comparison with renewable energy sources and believed their view was enforced by the fact that only four complaints had been received.

They explained that the ad was intended to highlight how Exxon were examining various technologies to meet the world's energy demands; it discussed how all fuels and energy sources were required to make a success of that process and then focused on natural gas and the work Exxon had been involved with in that area.  They said they had requested and received evidence from Exxon to justify the claim and submitted a chart taken from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), entitled "Natural Gas Issues and Trends 1998", which suggested that the use of natural gas was less environmentally damaging than any other fossil fuel.

Clearcast believed, in the current climate with increasing numbers of advertisers addressing environmental concerns and the subject being addressed in the media and schools, the intention and meaning of the statement would be understood by viewers.  They pointed out that renewable sources of energy such as solar, wind or wave, were seldom described as 'fuels', but the term was regularly applied to more tangible substances, coal, oil and gas.  They believed, in that context, gas was the least damaging to the environment and that was the point the ad tried to make.

Assessment

Upheld

We understood that the complainants were concerned that the ad implied liquefied natural gas was a clean, environmentally friendly fuel.  We understood that there were likely to be carbon emissions generated by the liquefying and transport process of liquefied natural gas, as pointed out by one viewer, and that, as a fossil derived fuel, it was a major contributor to carbon emissions and was not therefore environmentally friendly.

We also noted the comments of ERL and Clearcast and understood that the claim "Natural gas is one of the world's cleanest fuels" was intended to convey that, in comparison with other fossil fuels, natural gas was less environmentally damaging.  We considered, however, that viewers would not see this claim as a comparison with fossil fuels alone but as a comparison with all the sources of energy listed in the ad.  We noted the claim came after the statement "It's going to be vital that we develop all sources of energy to fuel the future growth of the world economy and this growing population.  It's going to be oil and gas, coal, nuclear, wind and solar".  The claim was not true when natural gas was compared to all the sources of energy listed.

The ad stated "I think one of the biggest challenges that the world is facing today is to develop all the energy we need in an environmentally friendly way".  It then listed a number of energy sources and stated "We are going to need them all.  One of those examples is liquefied natural gas".  Although the ad did not explicitly state that liquefied natural gas had been developed in an environmentally friendly way or was environmentally friendly we considered that was how viewers would interpret it.

Although not Exxons stated intention, we concluded that the ad misleadingly implied that natural gas was one of the cleanest sources of energy and that liquefied natural gas was environmentally friendly.

The ad breached CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rules 5.1 (Misleading advertising), 5.2.2 (Implications) and 5.2.6 (Environmental claims).

Action

The ad must not be broadcast again in its current form.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Broadcast)