You'd struggle to make this up.
Moments ago, our activists dropped a huge banner at the Frankfurt motor show - the biggest in the world - to highlight VW's hypocrisy over its environmental policy (more info here).
Then something spectacular happened.
Volkwagen's PR gurus told a bunch of their staff to head out with their own placards, staging a counter-protest against our action.
You have to squint a little to see them there, but they lend a nice sense of perspective to the picture.
There's even a grassroots sense to it - what with different sized placards and all. It's just a bit of a shame for them that they forgot all the giant logos underneath their balcony - Skoda, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche - which are all brands of the Volkswagen empire.
So while VW's astroturfing demo is one way of communicating with us, we think it'd be much easier to sit around a meeting table - something Volkswagen has been refusing to do for two months.
What do you think - PR score or fail?
UPDATE - TAKE ACTION: CALL VW NOW!
Grab your phone and call Volkswagen now on 0800 333 666 and tell them to stop their lobbying. (If you're outside the UK, find your national office here).
Here are a couple of talking points:
- Why is VW lobbying against 30% greenhouse gas cuts in Europe?
(We need it to fight climate change and even a study by the German Government says it will create thousands of jobs) - Why is VW lobbying against stronger car efficiency standards?
(ACEA, the lobby group that VW is at the heart of, is lobbying against a target of 95g CO2/Km)
BEWARE: Volkswagen will try and talk about their efficient cars (a tiny minority of the ones they sell) as examples of why they’re green.
Ask them why if they’re so 'green', they’re lobbying against these critical environmental laws!
Let us know how you get on in the comments.
