Eco-campaigners failed to see the funny side of Simon Cowell’s spoof ad with Barclaycard, which is set in Antarctica.
The region is under major threat from climate change, they warn.
And the film debuted yesterday amid protests over Barclays’ climate policy, with Greenpeace calling it “the worst bank in Europe for funding fossil fuels”.
Activists People & Planet accuse Barclays of investing “billions” into fossil fuel extraction, adding: “Simon Cowell should not be endorsing a bank that does this.”
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In the ad, Cowell promotes an online repayment calculator that he says is so great for customers it made “bad business” sense, akin to him launching Take The Stage Antarctica in the “ice-covered land mass”.
Labour-backing Momentum said of the reference: “It won’t be this way for much longer if Barclays keep funding the fossil fuel infrastructure driving climate change.”
Greenpeace UK added: “Polar regions are the front line of climate change. Apparently, Barclays are massively unaware.”
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Barclays said: “We recognise climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing the world and are determined to do all we can to support the transition to a low carbon economy.”
Last year, Neil Young said he did not want to work with what he called a “fossil fuel funding entity” after being lined up to play Barclaycard’s British Summer Time.
The singer will play a gig in London’s Hyde Park this summer without sponsorship.
