FLICK OFF
Encyclopedia
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
advertising campaign
Advertising campaign
An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication...
launched by Key Gordon Communications. It is a movement to fight climate change by getting Canadians to use less energy.
Its sponsors include MuchMusic
MuchMusic
MuchMusic is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Bell Media. MuchMusic is dedicated to music-related programs, pop and youth culture.-History:...
, Roots Canada, Environmental Defence Canada
Environmental Defence Canada
[Environmental Defence Canada] is a nonprofit environmental organization based in Toronto...
and the Government of Ontario
Government of Ontario
The Government of Ontario refers to the provincial government of the province of Ontario, Canada. Its powers and structure are set out in the Constitution Act, 1867....
. Some view this program as a continuation of the scrapped program One-Tonne Challenge
One-Tonne Challenge
The One-Tonne Challenge was a challenge presented by the Government of Canada in March 2004 for Canadians to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by one tonne each year. The figure represents 20% of total greenhouse gas output by Canadians and aimed to help the country reach its Kyoto Protocol...
in global perspective.
The motivation for the campaign is both to reduce energy consumption for its own sake and also with the aim of reducing carbon emissions to ultimately combat global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
.
The website associated with the campaign is aimed specifically at young Canadians. The website contains educational material about causes and consequences of global warming and strategies for reducing carbon emissions, and includes a "carbon calculator" called One Less Tonne to measure individual carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
emissions.
The website was launched by British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
entrepreneur Richard Branson
Richard Branson
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin Group of more than 400 companies....
and Ontario Environment Minister
Ministry of the Environment (Ontario)
The Ministry of the Environment, established in 1972, is the portfolio in the Executive Council of Ontario responsible for addressing the environmental issues affecting the environmental protection of the Canadian province of Ontario and the World...
Laurel Broten
Laurel Broten
Laurel C. Broten is a politician in Ontario, Canada. She is a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, representing the riding of Etobicoke—Lakeshore for the Ontario Liberal Party. On October 19, 2011, she was appointed Ontario Minister of Education.-Background:Prior to entering politics,...
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
on April 25, 2007.
Choice of name
The choice of the campaign's name is intended both as a reference to a light switchLight switch
A light switch is a switch, most commonly used to operate electric lights, permanently connected equipment, or electrical outlets. In torches the switch is often near the bulb, but may be in the tail, or even the entire head itself may constitute the switch .-Wall-mounted switches:Switches for...
(reflecting the energy-conservation theme) and the exhortation "fuck off
Fuck
"Fuck" is an English word that is generally considered obscene which, in its most literal meaning, refers to the act of sexual intercourse. By extension it may be used to negatively characterize anything that can be dismissed, disdained, defiled, or destroyed."Fuck" can be used as a verb, adverb,...
". This deliberate ambiguity is reflected in the design of the "Flick Off" logo, in which the L and I in "flick" are designed to resemble a U, in the branded promotional items for sale as part of the campaign, and in the website which features phrases like "are we flicked?". The power symbol
Power symbol
A power symbol is a symbol indicating that a control activates or deactivates a particular device. It incorporates line and circle figures, with the arrangement informed by the function of the control...
used as an "o" in "off" may also represent a raised middle finger.
The choice was criticized by several Ontario opposition politicians. In speaking of the campaign, Peter Kormos
Peter Kormos
Peter Kormos is a politician in Ontario, Canada. A former lawyer, he was first elected as an Ontario New Democratic Party Member of Provincial Parliament to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the Welland constituency in a 1988 provincial by-election. He replaced veteran NDP legislator Mel...
of the NDP
Ontario New Democratic Party
The Ontario New Democratic Party or , formally known as New Democratic Party of Ontario, is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. It is a provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party. It was formed in October 1961, a few months after the federal party. The ONDP had its...
said "It's silly, it's embarrassing, and clearly it's an ad agency that has a bunch of flickin' amateurs as employees." Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty
Dalton McGuinty
Dalton James Patrick McGuinty, Jr., MPP is a Canadian lawyer, politician and, since October 23, 2003, the 24th and current Premier of the Canadian province of Ontario....
responded that "if people want to take offence at something, don't take offence at the "flick off" campaign. Take offence at the fact that we are, as a species, raising the temperature on our planet." Toronto Sun
Toronto Sun
The Toronto Sun is an English-language daily tabloid newspaper published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is known for its daily Sunshine Girl feature and for what it sees as a populist conservative editorial stance.-History:...
lifestyle columnist and Burlington
Burlington, Ontario
Burlington , is a city located in Halton Region at the western end of Lake Ontario. Burlington is part of the Greater Toronto Area, and is also included in the Hamilton Census Metropolitan Area. Physically, Burlington lies between the north shore of Lake Ontario and the Niagara Escarpment...
city council candidate Marianne Meed Ward responded that the debate over words was the privilege of the rich and pampered.