Corporate culture fails to impress

A major advertising campaign that claimed coal was “amazing” and had “endless possibilities” appears to have proved counter-productive, a new poll suggests. 

The net approval rating of coal fell by 9% after Australia’s mining industry ran the “Little Black Rock” campaign, which began in September across TV, radio, press and online, and featured a close-up of a lump of glistening coal. 

The ad claimed coal added $40bn a year to Australia’s economy and “can now reduce its emissions by up to 40%”. The tagline was: “Isn’t it amazing what this little black rock can do?”