DEBRIS.COMgood for a laugh, or possibly an aneurysm

A month ago I wrote about the Auto Alliance’s ad campaign claiming that new cars are “virtually emission free,” and the Union of Concerned Scientists’ sarcastic response (depicting a stoned-looking baby smoking a cigarette).

The UCS sent a followup email to report on the success of their campaign:

• 24,000 people requested that the FTC investigate the Auto Alliance’s claims. The FTC responded: “The communications we have received are already more than ample to allow us to begin evaluating the substance of the complaints.”
• 1100 people donated a total of $40,000 to finance the UCS’ response advertisement, calling out the Auto Alliance for deliberately misleading the public. The UCS has placed its ad in print and online media and will be distributing full-color reproductions to the entire Congress and Senate.

The UCS reports,

[T]he Auto Alliance has remained publicly resolute on this issue… commenting in an auto trade press article that “they will not stop using [the ads].” But we have heard from a number of different sources that individual automakers are reconsidering this ad campaign, and have, to this date, stopped running the ads in the Washington, DC media they had been saturating before.

In other words, thanks to your actions and generous contributions, the Auto Alliance is now well aware that their misrepresentations will not go unchallenged. We will continue to push auto companies to play a constructive role in cleaning up vehicle emissions, but when they attempt an end run around the facts, we will expose their deceptive practices to decision makers and consumers.