For as long as it has known that its product causes climate change (decades), Shell has been on the cutting edge of the oil industry's many attempts to greenwash its products by making cringey appeals to the youth. Cognizant of millennials’ and Gen Z’s disdain for the industry’s nasty habit of poisoning the planet, Shell has used everything from music videos to social media influencers, in addition to the usual lobby shops, to launder its oil-stained reputation.
Now, two years after researchers pinned down just how much climate change Shell's CEO is personally responsible for, the company is pursuing another advertising route to try and reach younger generations. While PragerU is making hamfisted efforts to reach children in schools, Shell knows where the cool kids hang out: video games.
We recently spotted an ad for Shell’s "Ultimate Road Trips" partnership with Fortnite, a build-and-shoot multiplayer online game. Apparently the polluter has created a "new island in Fortnite," and the Shell island "is all about speed, acceleration, and performance, powered by Shell V-Power® NiTRO+ Premium Gasoline."
Because when you're gaming, you definitely need to know about the superior speed and acceleration your real-world car will achieve with Shell V-Power® NiTRO+ Premium Gasoline. But lest the kids be misled by the YouTube clip of a car in Fortnite speeding away from a Shell station to take sick jumps off of snowy ramps, Shell does include an awkward disclaimer that “*This is an Ad. This is fantasy and isn't real performance of Shell V-Power® NiTRO+ Premium Gasoline.”
Ah, okay, glad good ol’ Shell clarified that! Too bad the company isn’t as forthcoming about the damage its product does to the climate…
And if a partnership with Fortnite somehow feels very 2018, we wouldn’t be surprised if Shell branches out into other video game sponsorships. This isn't actually its first foray into eSports advertising: the oil company also partnered with Riot Games for the 2019 European League of Legends Championship.
And back in 2013, Shell sponsored the creation of an online interactive game teaching primary school students about road safety. After all, when Shell's product is used as intended to power a car, said car can all too easily run over a child if the child doesn't learn quickly from a company-sponsored game. (Drivers of those increasingly giant gas guzzlers certainly won’t be able to see them!)
Shell isn’t the only fossil fuel company that’s tried to use video games to boost its reputation. Back in 2017, ExxonMobil was sponsoring Rocket League, "because cars."
And if that isn’t enough oil industry propaganda for you: Going back 100 years, there's an Australian board game that advertises Shell products. The oil giant has been playing games with the public for a century, and we're still letting them do it.
