ESG Enforcement Tracker

Key facts:

In a recent ruling published by the ASA, promotional content from energy giant Aramco came under scrutiny over allegations of misleading advertising. The complaint, raised by the New Weather Institute, focused on a series of digital ads run by Aramco across LinkedIn, Google, and Instagram between November 2023 and January 2024. Despite the growing public and regulatory scrutiny over environmental messaging by fossil fuel companies, the ASA ultimately ruled in Aramco’s favour, with the complaints not up held.

The three ads subject to the complaint promoted Aramco’s involvement with the Aston Martin Formula One team. They highlighted innovation and collaboration, featuring imagery of racing cars and messaging around technological advancement. The voiceover and captions emphasized research into “ultra-efficient hybrid internal combustion engines,” “advanced fuels,” and broader, rhetorical inquiries into innovation, such as “How can we help with global net zero targets?”

Aramco argued that the ads were strictly related to its partnership with the Aston Martin Formula One team and did not constitute corporate branding or environmental claims. They maintained that the messaging was abstract and aspirational, centring on innovation within motorsport rather than the company’s oil and gas activities. Furthermore, Aramco highlighted that it does not market consumer products directly to UK consumers, which reduced the likelihood of viewers interpreting the campaign as representative of its broader business operations.

The ASA agreed, ruling that the ads did not breach advertising standards. Key to the decision was the ASA’s view that:

• The ads were focused on the F1 partnership and would be interpreted in that context.
• They did not explicitly make environmental claims and while improved performance of cars could result in an environmental benefit, the ads made no such claims.
• The rhetorical questions and references to “advanced fuels” were too vague to constitute specific, environmental claims requiring substantiation.
• The average consumer was unlikely to interpret the ads as a reflection of Aramco’s wider business or environmental footprint, but rather its ambition and potential future business activities.