Let’s leverage cinema’s power for the planet
Opinion
Films are one of the world’s most popular cultural forces and brands can harness cinema’s immersive environment to shine a light on the importance of sustainability.
On 6 May, groundbreaking nature documentary Ocean will premiere at London’s Royal Festival Hall. It’s an honour usually reserved for blockbusters like Wicked and critics’ darlings like Conclave — but Ocean stars one of popular culture’s most enduring double acts: Sir David Attenborough and Mother Nature.
The documentary is the latest in a long line of releases that explore both the beauty and fragility of Earth. From The Day After Tomorrow’s catastrophic ice age to Don’t Look Up’s meteor allegory, portraying climate change on the big screen is an effective way of empowering engaged audiences to act.
But the onus of awareness shouldn’t fall solely on filmmakers. Climate change is an advertiser’s challenge too. In fact, brands can drive real, positive change — both socially and reputationally.
So how can cinema advertising be a part of the climate conversation?
Now showing: A path towards emissions reductions
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s sixth assessment report describes how “changes to our lifestyles and behaviour can result in a 40-70% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050”.
It’s an inspiring stat, making the mitigation of climate change feel within reach. But it should also be an urgent plea to all consumers, brands and advertisers to reduce consumptive behaviours and pivot to low-carbon products.
If your brand hasn’t yet promoted its sustainability initiatives, now is the time to start. Not least because Earth Day is today (22 April) and 2024 was the hottest year on record (with 2025 now on track to top it).
As Ocean gears up to reveal the new challenges facing marine life, Isba) has released a Responsible Media Guide — advising brands on crucial issues such as ad safety and media sustainability.
In essence, Isba’s new guide enables advertisers to retain maximum control over the placement of their ads, while offering guidance on how to place them more ethically and effectively than ever before.
And when it comes to attentive audiences, research finds that one channel consistently provides greater audience engagement than the rest.
Why cinema captivates — and converts
According to Pearl & Dean’s recent study, around four in 10 UK cinemagoers feel concerned about the climate crisis.
Indeed, film fans show greater sustainability engagement than the average consumer, with 37% of cinemagoers identifying as having “strong environmental beliefs and behaviours” versus 27% nationally.
Meanwhile, advertising in cinemas is proven to garner consistently higher levels of audience connection and retention. Neuroscientists found it increases brain activity in all measured areas: +14% for detail memory, +16% for personal relevance/engagement and +21% for global memory.
What’s more, cinema achieves around 29% higher engagement than website ads, while a 30-second cinema spot has 1.75 times more chance of having its “intended impact” on memory and engagement than a 30-second TV ad.
The research concluded that cinema advertising is effective because it’s watched during periods of uninterrupted attention. Where else, other than work or school, can you implore people to turn off their phones?
As a result, cinema ads feel more personally relevant to audiences, become strongly encoded into their subconscious memories and improve the recall chances of an ad’s messaging, brand, emotion and creative.
Ultimately, advertising on the big screen is the gold standard for influencing human behaviour. Couple this efficacy with ads that promote sustainability and your brand can help move towards a Hollywood ending to the greatest challenge facing our planet.
In fact, some businesses have already begun to call lights and camera on climate change.
A new frontier for sustainable storytelling
In 2024, Pearl & Dean and National Parks UK launched the Wild Spaces initiative to inspire nationwide nature support among cinemagoers. Wild Spaces allows purpose-driven brands to feature in a dedicated advertising reel, shown in Pearl & Dean cinemas before films, to fund nature restoration projects in the country’s national parks.
Giffgaff was the launch partner for Wild Space’s first six months and is continuing its support across 2025, with Wild Spaces now open to other brands too. And research shows it’s already delivering real impact.
In fact, 60% of Wild Spaces audiences say they feel strongly positive about what can be done to protect and restore national parks, compared with 33% of the average consumer. They are also much more likely to believe the ads genuinely protect and restore national parks, with 87% planning on visiting one and 72% likely to engage in conservation activities.
Simply put, Wild Spaces is fast establishing cinema as a force for good and providing a creative platform for sustainability-focused campaigns. And there’s more than enough scope for a sequel too.
Let’s rewrite climate change’s ending
When Attenborough joined Instagram, he said: “Saving our planet is now a communications challenge.” Films are one of the world’s most popular cultural forces and brands can harness cinema’s engrossing, immersive environment to shine a light on the importance of sustainability.
When you combine the power of climate change education with the power of attention, real behaviour change can happen.
Clare Turner is chief commercial officer at Pearl & Dean