Shell sparks outrage after promoting fossil fuels with Fortnite campaign

Shell has been slammed for targeting young demographics after a Fortnite campaign promoted the use of gas amid the current climate crisis.

According to NASA, 97 percent of publishing climate scientists agree that global warming is real and that humans are causing the issue.

In fact, predictions suggest that over the next 50 years, the tropics, the coasts, and formerly arable lands will become increasingly difficult to live in, displacing millions.

With this in mind, it’s no wonder that a recent 2021 study found that 83 percent of children and young people aged between 16 to 25 feel humans have “failed to take care of the planet.”

And Shell is seemingly looking to reinforce that belief with their latest marketing campaign promoting gas to young audiences through Fortnite and social media.

Fortnite is partnering with… *checks notes,* Big Oil giant Shell to promote premium gasoline.

?????https://t.co/li82v1gZni pic.twitter.com/OxNGesssWC

— Jez (@JezCorden) October 6, 2023

The company worked with creators on Fortnite to promote its new premium gas with a map dubbed Shell Ultimate Road Trips. Players first have to fill up at a Shell gas station before embarking and are encouraged to share screenshots of their gameplay online.

Content creators across various social media platforms were sponsored by Shell to promote the campaign and popular gamers were “invited” to test out the map. Media Matters identified at least six Twitch streamers partnered with the company:

• ‘Punisher’
• ‘NateHill’
• ‘Chica’
• ‘brookeab’
• ‘Astrobounder’
• ‘Grady_Rains’

Despite their best efforts to win over younger generations, Shell’s campaign has been largely met with outrage due to its lack of regard for current global conditions.

Shell is working with creators on Fortnight as part of its task of "giving millennials a reason to connect emotionally with Shell’s commitment to a sustainable future."

I am certainly connecting emotionally but perhaps not in the way Shell wants me to https://t.co/46tD6QJHqH

— Emily Atkin (@emorwee) October 4, 2023

In order to tackle climate change, the IEA released a Net Zero Roadmap that set out a global pathway to bring the world’s energy sector to net zero and limit global warming to 1.5 °C.

And that roadmap clearly warned that “no new long-lead-time upstream oil and gas projects are needed.”

Nonetheless, Shell is rolling out a business plan that, according to Bloomberg, will put “oil and gas front and center while giving low-carbon efforts a smaller supporting role.”

And it appears marketing aimed at children is a part of that plan. Check out all the latest entertainment news on our page here.