Greenpeace Canada has launched billboards and bus advertisements that parody a controversial campaign from a Canadian atheist group.
Earlier this year, The Freethought Association of Canada unveiled creative featuring the slogan, “There probably is no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.”
The ads sparked protests from religious groups in cities such as Toronto, Calgary and Ottawa.
Seeking to spread the message that cod stocks in Canadian waters have become dangerously depleted, Greenpeace Canada decided to spoof the atheist campaign with their own play on the slogan. Earlier this week, billboards went up in Halifax and Ottawa with the headline “There probably is no cod. Now let’s stop overfishing and think of the future.”
The ads are also slated to appear on the side of Halifax buses.
“We just thought [the atheism campaign] message was very simple, and we’re trying to keep this message really simple,” said Sarah King, oceans campaigner for Greenpeace Canada. “There probably isn’t any cod, so we should just leave them alone.”
King said Greenpeace expects residents of Halifax and Ottawa to appreciate the riff on the Freethought Association ads, which were initially banned in both cities.
“This is a lighthearted approach to what is a serious issue,” King said. “What the stock assessments say is that we’re fishing [cod] too much and we need to reduce the pressure because they’re not going to recover at this rate.”
King said Halifax and Ottawa were chosen in part due to the cities’ familiarity with the atheist ads and the attendant controversy, but also because of Halifax’s large fishing industry and the presence of political decision-makers in Ottawa.
The ads were created in-house by Greenpeace.
