Do SUVs really take up “18 pages of advertising” every day in the press, as Marine Tondelier says?

While Paris town hall will organize a vote for or against more expensive parking for SUVs, Marine Tondelier, the national secretary of the Ecologists party, believes that advertising should also be tackled: “I have a problem with the fact that we glorify this type of vehicle in advertising. When you count the advertising in French newspapers, it is the equivalent of 18 pages of a national edition every day”she declared Thursday, November 16 on Sud Radio.

Almost 4 hours of commercials every day on television

What Marine Tondelier says is true. She refers to a report by WWF published in 2021. In this study, the NGO had analyzed all the advertisements released in 2019. She noted a massive presence of SUVs in advertisements that year and that actually represented 18 pages in the press every day but also 3h50 of daily advertising on television.

According to WWF estimates, the automobile industry has invested massively to promote its SUVs: 1.8 billion euros in these spots in 2019, that is-i.e. almost half of the advertising budget that year for the entire sector. VSMany ads seem to work. In any case, sales of these cars have increased significantly in recent years. HASToday almost one in two cars sold in France is an SUV, 45% precisely, compared to barely 10% at the start of the 2010s.

MBut this very strong increase in sales, whether in France or around the world, has consequences on the climate. En 2019, the International Energy Agency estimated that SUVs risked slowing down the decline in greenhouse gas emissions in the automobile sector, in particular because these large, heavier cars emit more CO2 and consume more. . About 25% more than a standard car.

Framed advertising

Few years ago, the Citizens’ Convention for the Climate had wanted to limit advertising for the most polluting products, in particular heavy vehicles such as SUVs, but the proposal was not accepted as it stands. That said, there is indeed a framework for motor vehicle advertisements. For more than a year, these ads have had to include the hashtag #SeDéplacerLesMoinsPolluer and also display the car’s CO2 emissions level.