Ideas change everything

What if advertising was honest?

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Sylvester Chauke |

TED@BCG

• November 2023

After years of brand building, marketing veteran Sylvester Chauke realized that his industry had sold the world on overconsumption, with devastating consequences. He shares how marketers could instead promote sustainability with "honest ads" that do right by the planet and encourage people to think twice before buying.

Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

After years of brand building, marketing veteran Sylvester Chauke realized that his industry had sold the world on overconsumption, with devastating consequences. He shares how marketers could instead promote sustainability with "honest ads" that do right by the planet and encourage people to think twice before buying.

Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

Support Clean Creatives, a movement of advertisers, PR professionals and their clients cutting ties with fossil fuels.

Get involved with Badvertising, a campaign to stop ads and sponsorships fueling the climate emergency.

Learn more about the Rapid Transition Alliance, a network of international organizations engaged in tackling the climate emergency.

About the speaker

Sylvester Chauke

Branding disruptor

See speaker profile

Marketing veteran Sylvester Chauke asks a provocative question with his work: "What if advertising told the truth?"

About TED Institute

Every year, TED works with a group of select companies and foundations to identify internal ideators, inventors, connectors, and creators. Drawing on the same rigorous regimen that has prepared speakers for the TED main stage, TED Institute works closely with each partner, overseeing curation and providing intensive one-on-one talk development to sharpen and fine tune ideas. The culmination is an event produced, recorded, and hosted by TED, generating a growing library of valuable TED Talks that can spur innovation and transform organizations.

Read more about the TED Institute

Support Clean Creatives, a movement of advertisers, PR professionals and their clients cutting ties with fossil fuels.

Get involved with Badvertising, a campaign to stop ads and sponsorships fueling the climate emergency.

Learn more about the Rapid Transition Alliance, a network of international organizations engaged in tackling the climate emergency.