Jonathan Wise was the global strategy director on Shell for two years while at the WPP agency J Walter Thompson (now VML). So, why is he now backing a UK ban on advertising and sponsorship by fossil fuel companies?
Chris Packham protests against fossil fuel ads
Times change — and so can our choices.
When I worked on Shell, I was seconded to their UK HQ for seven months, the thirteenth floor building on the edge of the Thames. When you walked up and down the stairs, you had to hold on to the handrail. Their dedication to health and safety on the oil rigs extended to office staff in zone 1.
And yet, that same culture of care has not extended to the climate. According to the Carbon Majors Report by InfluenceMap, Shell and other fossil fuel giants like BP, Exxon and TotalEnergies are among just 180 companies responsible for 69% of global carbon emissions since 1751. Shell is ninth on the list.
We might be more forgiving if these companies were genuinely winding down extraction and investing their profits in a transition to renewable energy. But that isn’t happening. And they’re using advertising to mask it.
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A growing share of fossil fuel marketing focuses on clean energy, even when actual investment tells a very different story. In February, BP announced it was slashing over $5bn in planned green energy projects, while at the same time committing an additional $10bn to oil and gas. By 2030, BP now aims to produce 2.4 million barrels of oil per day — a 60% increase from its 2020 target. This is not a transition. It's a rebrand.
Advertising has the power to shape how companies are seen, often as responsible, progressive, and future-focused. But while fossil fuel companies continue to scale back climate commitments, advertising gives them a social license to operate. It helps bad actors appear like good ones. This is why, just as we banned tobacco ads, we now need to consider restrictions on fossil fuel advertising and sponsorship – to protect people, the planet, and the integrity of our industry.
Because climate change isn’t abstract. It’s already affecting lives across the UK through rising food prices, unstable housing, and extreme weather. And this is just the beginning. Left unchecked, climate breakdown will upend life as we know it, and in the UK we’re getting off lightly. It threatens not just the environment, but the foundations of our economy, our health system, and our way of life — and force us to adapt in ways we’re only beginning to comprehend.
At Purpose Disruptors, our mission is to change the story of advertising so it works in harmony with nature. Continued fossil fuel extraction is working against nature. So when Chris Packham launched a petition calling for a ban on fossil fuel advertising and sponsorship, which became the 18th most popular in UK parliamentary history, we knew we had to act.
Alongside Clean Creatives and Creatives for Climate, Purpose Disruptors coordinated a letter for advertising professionals and agencies to sign in support of the call. In less than a week, over 150 signatories have joined — including The Guardian, Mobsta, Elvis, Amplify, Lucky Generals and Open Media, and momentum is growing.
This letter isn’t just about endorsing a ban. It’s about creating space for a democratic expression of values. It’s about standing for the future of our industry, and our ability to act with integrity in a time of crisis.
Naturally, some in the industry may argue against a ban. There’s a tendency in any established system to protect the status quo. Industry bodies like the Advertising Association (AA) and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) have important roles to play, but they operate within a system designed to preserve business as usual — a system funded by advertisers, including fossil fuel clients. Other forces, too, are at play. By design, our industry is competitive. If one agency turns down work, another often takes it, leaving those who do the right thing with less in their pocket.
But what if we changed that dynamic?
What if the industry came together and actively encouraged the government to ban advertising for high-carbon industries? This would remove the competitive disadvantage of making the ethical choice. No one could take the work, because the work wouldn't exist. The playing field would be levelled.
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Such a ban is about raising the baseline of what is needed to build an industry fit for the future. It would set clear, fair standards that remove disinformation and greenwashing from the system. It would challenge us to focus our talents on building a more sustainable future. Regulation, in this context, doesn’t restrict creativity — it refocuses it.
And most importantly, it signals something vital: that we understand the scale of the challenge, and we are ready to lead.
If you work in advertising, this is your moment. Imagine it’s the 1990s. We know the link between smoking and cancer. Tobacco ads are still on billboards and in magazines. Then a letter arrives in your inbox, asking you to support a ban.
What do you do?
Do you stay silent and trust the system to work it out? Or do you take a stand?
That’s the question we face today. Fossil fuels are the cigarettes of our time — and history will ask what we did when we had the chance to act..
I feel passionately about this issue because I’ve seen it from the inside, and I know the science. I also understand that others may see it differently. That’s why now, as this issue is debated in Parliament, it must also be debated in our industry.
The letter is an invitation. A chance to be heard. A chance to shape the future of our industry, together
Times change. So can our choices.
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