LEAKED: Enbridge’s New Northern Gateway Pipeline Ad Campaign “Open to Better”

By Carol Linnitt

Oct. 1, 2013 2 min. read

This article is more than 11 years old

DeSmog Canada has obtained leaked copies of Enbridge’s new Northern Gateway Pipeline advertising campaign notes, including a ‘mood board’ that sets the tone for images surrounding the project, outlines and scripts for television commercials, and creative platforms for other advertising materials. The theme of the campaign is “Open to Better.”

The documents also reveal Enbridge’s attempt to convince British Columbian’s that Premier Christy Clark’s 5 conditions, which were set as terms for the project’s approval, have been met. Two characters, Janet Holder, Enbridge's VP, and ‘The Orca,’ are used to express how the Northern Gateway Pipeline will offer British Columbian’s what they want: what is better.

DeSmog Canada will provide more analysis of the new campaign in posts to come, but for now, feast your eyes and ask yourself, is building a pipeline for the export of Alberta’s tar sands oil really being ‘open to better?’ Or is it a refusal to actually be better – at managing our resources, addressing the social and environmental pollution associated with our fossil fuel dependence, and beginning the transition to clean energy solutions?

(Update: Enbridge spokesman Ivan Giesbrecht reportedly said these ads were created by a "consortium of different partners," not solely Enbridge, and the Janet and the Orca television ad is "not an ad that we'll be running, nor have any plans to run.")

BC First Nations, who nearly unanimously opposed the Northern Gateway Pipeline, have made their own version of the proposed 'Janet and the Orca' ad:

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Published By

Carol Linnitt

Carol Linnitt is a journalist, editor, illustrator and co-founder of The Narwhal. Carol has been reporting on energy and enviro...

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