Perspective... How far should agencies go in helping clients be good corporate citizens?

In much of Asia the pressure is growing on marketers and their agencies to demonstrate that brands are acting responsibly and show that their advertising is not purely the bad influence vociferous consumer groups claim.

But as the public points the finger of blame at advertising, what role - if any - should agencies play in helping clients become good corporate citizens?

There appears to be a desire within the media and advertising business for agencies to pull together with clients to ensure the content they produce and how they communicate their brand messages do not add to society’s ills. Yet the debate about exactly how far the advertising industry should rein in its current practices and what the role of the agency should be remains heated.

In this issue’s Green Feature , Todd Sampson, chief executive at Leo Burnett Sydney, makes a good point. He says the industry has an obligation to give back, but it’s not the industry’s job to be pushing clients.

Sampson, of course, is right. Agencies should stick to what they are best at. After all, is it an agency’s job to wave the moral finger at a client?

Perhaps not, but it has to be questioned whether the advertising industry would get more respect if it used its resources and talent to work with consumer groups or governments to help tackle issues such as climate change. Euro RSCG’s ‘Tck tck tck’ campaign , the Ogilvy Earth initiative and Earth Hour are all good examples of this.

Unfortunately, in Asia green isn’t an issue the industry is all that comfortable with. While green advertising in other markets has come far since the first carbon-neutral ads went on air, in this part of the world, being green isn’t a badge of honour, let alone an imperative.

That will change over time. The trouble is that, when it does, the environment will be in danger of becoming such a speeding bandwagon that advertisers may be tempted to leap thoughtlessly aboard.

We’ve already seen it in Australia. Even in Asia, consider how many times you’ve seen images of polar bears on ice caps and blue skies and green fields in advertising. These images are increasingly being appropriated by unlikely brands for environmentally friendly credentials.

The fact that so many big advertisers are resorting to such clichéd (and frankly unimaginative) imagery means consumers are more likely to be sceptical or simply switch off.

And of course the danger with that is that some really important messages will get lost along the way. The climate change issue is one area where the industry has the chance to demonstrate its power to make dramatic and positive change.

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This article was originally published in 3 December 2009 issue of Media.