Procter & Gamble Makes Every Day Earth Day
Procter & Gamble’s plan for Earth Day had a lot going for it. A few weeks in advance of the holiday, the company started promoting a new mobile application online. On Earth Day, the app was released to the wild, and it set users to the task of saving the world one day at a time.
The app, My Carbon Footprint, was created by Blue Chip Marketing Worldwide. It’s only available in the U.S., so if you can’t access it, here’s the gist. To start, you’re presented with a few customization options for a planet. Once you make your selections, the app asks a series of simple environmental questions. It might ask if you recycle, or whether you drive regularly, or if you leave the television on when you leave the room. Based on your answers, it creates a custom planet that reflects your environmental choices. Each day, the app asks another question, and depending on your answers, your planet will get better and cleaner or worse and more industrial. If things are going badly and you want to save your world, the only way to make it happen is to make positive real-world changes (or fib, but let’s not be cynical).
It really modernizes the somewhat tired concept of a carbon footprint. If your planet is falling apart, then that’s what our planet might look like if everyone behaved like you. If your planet is spotless and beautiful, then you’re making the right choices, and other people should follow your lead. And that’s where the app’s badge system and Facebook integration come into things. Invite your friends, and share your planet with them. Maybe they’ll want to follow your lead.
