Britain’s advertising regulator is assessing complaints that a television advertisement for oil major Shell gives a misleading impression of the company’s commitment to clean energy. 

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said it had received 25 complaints about the ad, which was created on behalf of Shell by the media company VML, according to DeSmog research. Formerly known as Wunderman Thompson, VML has worked with Shell since 1999.

“We are currently assessing the complaints to establish if there are grounds for further action, i.e. launching an investigation,” an ASA spokesperson said. “No decision has been taken on that at this time.”

In the advertisement, a woman dressed as an engineer says that Shell is “on a mission to install thousands of Shell EV chargers by 2035” and that the oil major is “investing in people and communities, to build skills for the energy transition,” with accompanying images showing wind turbines.

The ad ends by saying that Shell is ‘powering progress’ across the UK.

In the letter of complaint, which was seen by DeSmog, the signatories say that Shell’s aim is to build public trust “by positioning themselves as a ‘good actor’ in the climate emergency,” despite the company’s backtracking on its climate goals and continued investment in fossil fuels.

“By selective use of facts [Shell] aims to change public perception in a way that is ultimately misleading and untruthful,” the complaint reads.

The complaint underscores growing concerns among climate campaigners over the role of advertising and public relations firms in creating an exaggerated impression of the fossil fuel industry’s backing for climate solutions – even as companies ramp up production of oil and gas. 

“Aside from the technicalities of whether this ad is breaking the ASA’s codes, we desperately need the regulator to grasp that adverts like this lead the public into a climate coma,” said Victoria Harvey, a PhD researcher in advertising and sustainability, who was among the complainants.

“By giving false assurances that the energy transition is in hand, they perpetuate a sense of normality which totally sedates the masses and paves a path of continued global warming which we’re all forced to walk down,” Harvey told DeSmog. “It’s terrifying and unconscionable that the advertising sector continues to be complicit in this.”

Shell and VML did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Shell came under fire from climate advocates in March when it announced it would delay a 2030 carbon reduction target until 2050, and scrapped a further target to reduce the carbon intensity of its operations by 45 percent by 2035. The move followed controversial comments by Shell’s chief executive Wael Sawan in 2023, when he told the BBC it would be “dangerous and irresponsible” to cut oil and gas production. 

According to research by advocacy organisation, Oil Change International, Shell’s plans are insufficient to meet the Paris Agreement’s targets of limiting global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

Last year, the ad industry publication The Drum reported that a Shell ad created by Wunderman Thompson had been banned by the regulator for misleading consumers on the extent of Shell’s lower carbon investments.

In October 2023, the world’s largest advertising holding company WPP merged Wunderman Thompson with VMLY&R to create VML – the agency behind the latest ad.

In June, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged governments to ban fossil fuel advertising and warned creative agencies to stop working for the industry, saying oil and gas was “toxic” to their brand.