Forwarded by Jane Clark at [log in to unmask] Even the anti-environmental Blue Ribbon Coalition expresses concern in this article for the environmentally-unfriendly marketing tactics of some SUVs... ---------------- Begin Forwarded Message ---------------- Environmentalists angered by ads glorifying off-road thrills 05/29/2000 Associated Press Newswires Copyright 2000. The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. DENVER (AP) - Advertisements are meant to conjure up enticing images of products, but some environmentalists are complaining some companies have gone too far in marketing their products. The controversy centers on television and magazine ads that show mountain bikes, sport utility vehicles and other rugged vehicles having their way with the land. The ads include ones from Kia showing a sport utility vehicle storming up a creek in a forest with no road in sight; Mountain Dew, which shows bikers going over a waterfall and pedaling down a streambed; and Nissan, which features SUV drivers playing polo while scarring a grassy countryside with their muddy tracks. "The ads send a message that you can go out there and do your own thing," said Pam Eaton of the Wilderness Society. Jack Welch of the Blue Ribbon Coalition, a national off-road advocacy group in Golden, added: "Most sport utility vehicles never go off the road, but these macho ads get people salivating. People who see the ads don't know you're damaging the environment when you drive in a waterway." Once, he said, he came across an SUV blanketed with so much mud the doors wouldn't open. When he asked the driver why he drove into the mud, the driver replied, "The ad said that the four-wheel drive will take you anywhere." Welch and others like him say enough is enough. They're fighting to take back their land and restore it to its state of purity. One tool is President Clinton's roadless initiative affecting U.S. Forest Service and other federally managed lands. His proposal to restrict all modes of travel to established routes in forests and rangeland was a response to a public lands inventory that found a multitude of user-created byways carved into the earth. They're also taking their campaign straight to the offending companies. Welch says he and members of other motorized groups have been in contact with the Ford Motor Co. about their ads that say the vehicles go anywhere and with Chevrolet, concerning their "Like a Rock" ads. Vera Smith of the Colorado Mountain Club urges consumers to do the same. "People should give feedback to the advertisers and the special-use magazines about it," she said. Such complaints led to the U.S. Forest Service introducing the "Tread Lightly!" program, under which vehicle makers, user groups and conservation organizations monitor commercial pitch-making. Tread Lightly!, now a nonprofit group based in Utah, works with recreationists and manufacturers to promote environmentally ethical ads. Lori Davis, the nonprofit's director, said her organization is successful in curbing ads showing destructive use of vehicles. In recent years, Mercedes-Benz, Jeep and Nissan have killed ad campaigns that showed land abuse. Also, Jeep has twice received the annual Tread Lightly! award for environmentally responsible ads. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - For SC email list T-and-C, send: GET TERMS-AND-CONDITIONS.CURRENT to [log in to unmask]