Greenpeace Has Declared War On Procter & Gamble And Its Ad Agencies

Greenpeace has launched an all-out media blitz against Procter & Gamble, and not even P&G's advertising agencies are safe.

Over the past week, environmentalists have hung banners from P&G's corporate headquarters in Cincinnati, skewered one of the company's signature advertising campaigns, and infiltrated the lobby of Saatchi & Saatchi, an ad agency that does work for the consumer goods giant's Head & Shoulders shampoo brand.

The environmental group announced its issue with P&G on Feb. 26, when it released a report finding that the company has been purchasing palm oil, a natural ingredient used in soap products, from three producers that are clearing rainforest land in Malaysia and Indonesia to meet corporate demand. Greenpeace said this deforestation is destroying the natural habitat of orangutans and the endangered Sumatran tiger.

Greenpeace then launched its assault this past Tuesday, when nine activists snuck into P&G's corporate headquarters, ziplined across its buildings, and unfurled banners with slogans like "Head & Shoulders: Wipes out dandruff & rainforests."

The nine protestors have been charged with felony counts of burglary and vandalism.

Greenpeace also targeted Procter & Gamble's popular "Thank You, Mom" ad campaign, a touching tribute to the mothers who raise Olympic athletes made by the agency Wieden+Kennedy. Greenpeace's parody video says that while Procter & Gamble claims to honor moms, its use of palm oil from shady suppliers is leaving many orangutans orphaned.

Finally, Greenpeace activists set up entryways outside of Saatchi & Saatchi London, the ad agency that markets Head & Shoulders, and asked employees to choose between walking through the one marked "Protect Forests" and the one marked "Destroy Forests."

Procter & Gamble told USA Today that it is investigating Greenpeace's claims and has committed to using only sustainable palm oil by 2015.