I’ve been in Copenhagen since November 28th and the streets have become increasingly crowded this week. Perhaps some of the crowds are Christmas shoppers, come in from the surrounding Danish towns. Some are negotiating teams and governmental staff from the 190 some nations that began official talks on Monday. A whole host of Copenhagen’s growing and lively morass, however, are neither Danes nor accredited negotiators, but paid representatives for companies with a stake in this meeting’s outcome.
Around every corner seems to be some mention of the COP15 (the UN’s official name for the international negotiations on climate change). Often it’s a poster pasted onto a trash barrel, street light, or construction wall advertising the upcoming December 12th international day of action. Gangs of activists, like your very own Greenpeace Youth, have set up informational stations around the city and many more are patrolling the streets with petitions and fliers for upcoming rallies and demonstrations.
Just as frequently, however, another kind of advertisement will catch your eye. Corporate branding of the COP15 talks is proving to be very popular, with companies spending real cash to make sure their name is out in force as thousands of government officials and media hit the town. Massive banners and billboards sponsored by Coke, Siemens, and Unilever have been hung and installed at most major intersections and metro stops – their messages range from entirely and intentionally vague to blatantly and ironically self-promotional.
Coke’s “Hopenhagen” billboards are generally non-offensive – they’re bright and playful illustrations of bunnies and flowers emerging from a Coke bottle. We are, I believe, to feel buoyed that the COP15 talks will bring forth a new day…just like Coke? (In all fairness, Coke has timed a big decision around their use of climate-altering chemicals in their vending machines and coolers to coincide with the start of the climate talks).
