FLICK OFF

FLICK OFF

FLICK OFF ("flick off") is a Canadian advertising campaign launched by Key Gordon Communications. It is a movement to fight climate change by getting Canadians to use less energy.

Its sponsors include MuchMusic, Roots Canada, Environmental Defence Canada and the Government of Ontario. Some view this program as a continuation of the scrapped program One-Tonne Challenge in global perspective.

The motivation for the campaign is both to reduce energy consumption for its own sake and also with the aim of reducing carbon emissions to ultimately combat global warming.cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/story/2007/04/25/branson-climate.html|title=Flick Off site launched to promote emissions cuts|publisher=CBC News|date=2007-04-25|accessdate=2007-04-27]

The website associated with the campaign is aimed specifically at young Canadians. The website contains educational material about causes and consequences of global warming and strategies for reducing carbon emissions, and includes a "carbon calculator" called "One Less Tonne" to measure individual carbon dioxide emissions.

The website was launched by British entrepreneur Richard Branson and Ontario Environment Minister Laurel Broten in Toronto on April 25, 2007.

Choice of name

The choice of the campaign's name is intended both as a reference to a light switch (reflecting the energy-conservation theme) and the exhortation "fuck off". This deliberate ambiguity is reflected in the design of the "Flick Off" logo, in which the L and I in "flick" are designed to resemble a U, in the branded promotional items for sale as part of the campaign, and in the website which features phrases like "are we flicked?". The power symbol used as an "o" in "off" may also represent a raised middle finger.cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2007/04/26/flick-off-campaign.html/|title=Critics want Ontario to 'Flick Off' campaign|publisher=CBC News|date=2007-04-26|accessdate=2007-04-27]

The choice was criticized by several Ontario opposition politicians. In speaking of the campaign, Peter Kormos of the NDP said "It's silly, it's embarrassing, and clearly it's an ad agency that has a bunch of flickin' amateurs as employees." Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty responded that "if people want to take offence at something, don't take offence at the "flick off" campaign. Take offence at the fact that we are, as a species, raising the temperature on our planet." [cite news|url=http://www.canada.com/topics/news/politics/story.html?id=0b254346-5f03-4d3b-898f-a490b9444b23&k=18924|title=McGuinty to critics of conservation campaign: Flick off|publisher=CanWest News Service|last=Lindgren|first=April|date=2007-04-28|accessdate=2007-04-30] Toronto Sun lifestyle columnist and Burlington city council candidate Marianne Meed Ward responded that the debate over words was the privilege of the rich and pampered. [cite news|url=http://www.torontosun.com/Lifestyle/Columnists/MeedWard_Marianne/2007/04/29/4139352-sun.html|title=Flick off, language police|publisher=Toronto Sun|last=Ward|first=Marianne Meed|date=2007-04-29|accessdate=2007-04-30]

See also

*Earth Hour

References

External links

* [http://www.flickoff.org Official site for the Flick Off campaign]
* [http://www.roots.com/new_canada/html/index_flickoff.shtml Flick Off] brand merchandise from Roots Canada
* [http://www.cnw.ca/fr/releases/archive/April2007/25/c8976.html Sir Richard Branson & Ontario Environment Minister Laurel Broten Headline Coalition to Fight Global Warming]
* [http://www.keygordon.com Key Gordon Communications]


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