Digital ad spending data for the week of October 16 - 22
Top spenders last week include Exxon, Vote No to Protect Maine, Geothermal, Green New Deal Network, and Mainers for Local Power PAC
In order to provide you, our dear readers, with the most useful insights into how political campaigns, outside groups, and companies are using digital ads to influence public opinion around climate change, clean energy, and conservation, we’re shaking up our format a bit. We hope you find it just as - and hopefully more! - interesting, and if not, feel free to let us know!
National Digital Ad Spending on Climate
Here are the top 25 spenders nationwide on climate and energy-related ads on Facebook from last week:
Additionally, here’s how much major groups have spent week-to-week on Facebook ads related to climate, conservation, and energy. Once again, polluters spent more on Facebook ads last week than climate groups, with the former group having spent $693,661 while the latter spent $534,914. This gap is almost entirely due to more huge investing in the platform by ExxonMobil, which alone spent more on Facebook ads last week than all the climate groups we track *combined*. However, as of this writing, the oil company is not currently running any ads on the platform.
We found that the League of Conservation Voters and the Green New Deal Network are among the few environmental groups that have started running new Facebook ads supporting the Build Back Better agenda. LCV has started running video ads supporting Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, Mark Kelly, and Maggie Hassan that highlight the positive climate + clean energy impacts of the package, while the GND Network has launched new ads supporting a variety of members of Congress, attacking Kyrsten Sinema for her obstruction, and calling on Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to stop subsidizing fossil fuels.
Meanwhile, we’ve identified five climate + conservation groups that ran ads on Google and YouTube last week: the NRDC Action Fund, The Nature Conservancy, LCV, NC WARN, and Friends of the Earth. These groups spent a total of $46,800 on the platform last week, most of which going toward ads that support or advocate for climate action elements of the Build Back Better agenda.
However, only two of these groups are running new ads. The Nature Conservancy launched a new banner ad campaign urging Reps. Ed Case, Tom O’Halleran, Josh Gottheimer, and Kurt Schrader, and Sens. Maggie Hassan, Bob Casey, and Catherine Cortez Masto not to “lose this opportunity to support climate action.” NC Warn is also running Google banner ads again that urge North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper to oppose the construction of new fracking plants from Duke Energy.
Overall, here are the top 10 spenders on climate ads on Snapchat so far this year. One of the biggest spenders on energy ads on the platform in recent weeks is Vote No to Protect Maine, which is continuing to run video ads opposing an initiative that would effectively halt a hydroelectric power corridor project in northwest Maine.
Climate Action in Battleground States
It’s hard to believe that Election Day is already next week! And with the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial elections soon to be in the rearview, the ‘22 midterms will be right in front of us, whether we’re ready or not. So, starting this week, we’re going to be tracking the climate, clean energy, and conservation ads that voters in key states are seeing online. While the exact nature of next year’s campaigns is still uncertain, we’re going to be keeping an eye on climate ads in races in eight key states: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
FL-GOV: In his comeback bid, Charlie Crist just started running fundraising ads hammering Ron DeSantis’ nonexistent climate action record: “Governor Ron DeSantis is a NO on preventing climate change, a NO on preparing for its effects, and a NO on protecting the Everglades. That’s reason enough for Floridians to say NO to giving him a second term! Pitch in now to help Charlie defeat Governor DeSantis and elect a governor who will protect our beautiful natural environment and our planet.”
FL-SEN: Val Demings, who spent over $78k on Facebook ads last week, ran acquisition ads arguing to abolish the filibuster, saying that Mitch McConnell is “using the filibuster to STOP Democrats from taking action on voting rights, health care, climate change and more.”
GA-SEN: Like Demings, Raphael Warnock is using prospective action on climate change and other issues (as well as Stacey Abrams) to collect emails: “Not only are the future of Stacey’s organizing work and our progressive agenda on health care, the minimum wage and climate in jeopardy – but this GOP onslaught endangers our very DEMOCRACY.”
NH-SEN: Maggie Hassan’s campaign has also incorporated language about climate action into her recent fundraising ads: “The GOP will stop at nothing to block every aspect of the Democrats’ agenda, and they need to win just ONE seat to take back control of our Senate and halt progress on climate change, affordable and accessible health care, voting rights and so much more.”
PA-SEN: We found a handful of recent ads from Malcolm Kenyatta advocating for climate justice in some recent fundraising ads: “I’m certain with your help, we can take our movement for affordable childcare, climate justice, and livable wages to the Senate.”