The Upshot of Live Earth
- Posted by: Andrew Price
- on July 9, 2007 at 3:42 pm
The Live Earth concerts are over, and it’s recap time.
TreeHugger is polling its readers for their opinions. At writing a full 40% think the event was a waste of time and energy.
And the New York Times has a cranky review of the broadcast, complaining about the timidity of the message–that small and painless changes in habit, like switching off lights when they’re not in use, can make a big difference–and about the corporate sponsorships and celebrity hypocrisy. Madonna’s got a zillion houses! She can’t tell me what to do!
We offer this perspective:
Who cares how many cars Cameron Diaz has? When she says you should turn off the shower when you shave your legs, it’s still the truth. A broken clock is right twice a day.
Not putting on a seven-continent concert would have saved energy, and a Philip Glass concerto inspired by the chemical structure of CO2 might have been a cleverer official song.
But TreeHuggers and the folks at the NYT (the choir) don’t need this sermon. Metallica and Linkin Park and Xzibit and Kelly Clarkson delivered a different audience and got its attention.
We think the Boston Globe got it right.
DISCUSSION: 4 Comments
“Please rise for the national anthem,” he said and proceeded to play ‘Cause It’s My Life’ against the faintly pulsing Phillips logo in the background. will the people hear Bon Jovi rather than the muzak in the household items aisle? Will they pick up the light bulb? I think they will.
LiveEarth touched – and taught – so many people. It gave information and a plan, but that alone would not make it a success. LiveEarth touched our hearts – and we learn best through the affective domain. Through technology, it will go on to move and influence many more – thus recycling!
Al Gore and his team are the coolest humans on this green Earth.
Any good Marketer knows that the first step is to get your message out as effectively as possible to as many as possible. Or, watching the magic of a “People Maven†spread info through many others who trust their opinion. Or, as my husband sometime says it more simply, “if no one tells them, they’ll never know”! LiveEarth distilled the message down to reach the masses – not through Geldolf been-there-done-that speeches or dry scientific statistics – but through music, visuals and stirring emotions. Simple. Moving. Memorable.
The take-away effectiveness is too early to measure. Or is it? Maybe Good Magazine can get GE to share 60-days pre LiveEarth vs. 60-days after retail sales figures for CLFs. (I can see the graphic now!) Change the World, one bulb at a time? Maybe. Change the minds of a billion humans toward Saving the Earth just because their favorite singer/band shared the message? Priceless.
Just out of curiosity do you know what this piece is called by Philip Glass?