Australians for Coal

Talk about corporate transparency and no end of f-bombs.

Yannis Nikolakopoulos has crafted a depressingly hilarious piece of comedy that works so well because it plays on our worst fears about some corporate players he so nicely satirizes.

You’ve seen the ads:
You know the ads, the ones where big companies try and convince us they’re something that they are not.

Not true but they feel good:
Soothing music, soft focus camera shots and the gentle Voice Over calmly assuring us that all is well.

But some don’t ring true and we’re left feeling like they’re simply telling us what we they want us to hear.

“Australians for Coal:”
The video is Nikolakopoulos’s response to corporate communications around to climate change.

In it, three executives talk to the camera about their desire to act responsibly for the good of humanity while being sure to satisfy the more important needs of their shareholders.

The result is:
This clever piece of NSFW satire features corporate executives justifying their practices. It’s dark. It’s funny. And it’s vaguely unsettling.

We have been warned:
The UN is sounding the alarm on impending disaster if we don’t reduce our harm to the environment.

Desmond Tutu has called for the world to campaign against the fossil fuel industry and for divestment.

“We have allowed the interests of capital to outweigh the interests of human beings and our Earth,” he has said.

Can we change in time?:
Many fear that some of the worst corporate offenders are incapable of meaningful change, creating spin instead of solutions to the problems they are contributing to.

It is familiarity that makes the video so darkly funny to so many. It mimics so perfectly the bad corporate video of a company that does one thing but says another.

The filmmaker:
Nikolakopoulos’s background in Social Research, Filmmaking, Branding and Communications Strategy has not only made him aware of the deep disconnect between corporate messaging and the average disengaged citizen, but provided him the tools for a wickedly satiric response.

“Humour that reveals the hypocrisy of institutions is much more empowering to the average person,” he says.

Why it works:
By incorporating comedy, pragmatism, and storytelling, he has crafted powerful and powerfully funny video that helps people hear his message in a way that empowers them and compels them to act.

And that’s the power and beauty of good storytelling.

Australians for Coal. What is your investment dollar doing? (NSFW)