This The Climate Reality Project campaign Mark Abma, Michelle Parker, and Doug Stoup champion climate action in Pro Snow, blending athlete credibility with

Public Service

Mark Abma, Michelle Parker, & Doug Stoup are Pro Snow - The Climate Reality Project | Clapboard Ad Archive

Other Public Service Campaigns

DISCLAIMER:

63

Mark Abma, Michelle Parker, & Doug Stoup are Pro Snow - The Climate Reality Project | Clapboard Ad Archive

The Climate Reality Project’s 2014 campaign Mark Abma, Michelle Parker, & Doug Stoup are Pro Snow, conceived by Crispin Porter + Bogusky for the public service sector, enlists three of winter sports’ most respected athletes as visible advocates in the fight against climate change, smartly leveraging their credibility and personal stake in snowfall to reach both sports enthusiasts and environmentally conscious audiences. Building on the insight that traditional climate communications often fail to make the issue feel personal, the campaign bypasses data-driven appeals and instead places professional skiers and snowboarders—whose connection to snow is existential—at the center of a conversation about preservation and urgency, all framed with a wink by positing what snow itself might think of their efforts. The film asset, which forms the heart of the campaign, takes a documentary and social experiment approach to reinforce authenticity, using real figures instead of actors or constructed storylines and allowing their lived experiences to serve as narrative proof points of a changing environment. With its core message delivered in a conversational and lightly humorous tone that invites engagement without heaviness, it avoids alarmism and positions the Climate Reality Project as a brand capable of making the climate imperative feel approachable and achievable. The campaign underscores that the stakes of climate inaction are not abstract; they are keenly felt by those whose professions, passions, and identities are bound to the integrity of winter itself, with Mark Abma, Michelle Parker, and Doug Stoup anchoring the work as trusted messengers rather than distant figureheads. Clapboard’s 12-format taxonomy would recognize this approach as FORMAT#8 — Ongoing Characters or Celebrities, with the athletes’ recurring presence delivering built-in trust and recall, and the campaign’s messaging aligning squarely with the strengths of influencer-led advocacy in the public interest space. The campaign’s central activation, directing viewers to iamprosnow.org, weaves audience action into the narrative, transforming awareness into advocacy without overt didacticism or polarizing rhetoric. By focusing on personal investment and emotional connection—rather than the usual parade of statistics—the initiative signals a maturing of strategic communications in public service marketing, placing citizen action on par with institutional responsibility. The campaign earns 63/100 in Clapboard’s global creative archive. This matters to the industry because it demonstrates how celebrity-led creative, rooted in lived experience and delivered with tonal clarity, can reframe climate advocacy to resonate across communities passionate about both sport and sustainability.

Credits

Client

The Climate Reality Project

Agency

Crispin Porter + Bogusky, CPB, Boulder, CO, USA

Category Mind Map

48%

The campaign “Mark Abma, Michelle Parker, & Doug Stoup are Pro Snow” by The Climate Reality Project leverages the credibility and passion of professional athletes to underscore the value and urgency of climate action. Positioned within the public service sector, the campaign’s core proposition is to highlight the personal and environmental stakes of climate change through the lens of individuals directly connected to nature—professional snowboarders and skiers whose livelihoods depend on healthy winter conditions. By framing the message as an interaction between these athletes and snow itself, the campaign innovatively personifies the environment to evoke emotional resonance and awareness. Strategically, the campaign employs a documentary/social experiment format to deliver authenticity and engage viewers through storytelling rather than traditional advocacy. This approach aligns with insights that audiences respond more deeply to real-life narratives and relatable figures rather than abstract calls to action. By targeting sports enthusiasts and environmentally conscious individuals—both who have a vested interest in snow quality—the campaign uses trusted messengers to bridge awareness and concern about climate impacts. The use of well-known professional athletes creates a credible and aspirational voice, while the conversational, slightly humorous framing (“we may never know… scratch that, we definitely know”) invites curiosity and personal reflection without overt preaching. In emphasizing the intersection of personal identity, environmental change, and public interest, the campaign aims to deepen commitment to the brand’s broader climate action goals, fostering a sense of urgency grounded in tangible experience rather than distant scientific data. This aligns with a market strategy that prioritizes emotional engagement and credibility to mobilize audiences toward advocacy and behavior change in the public service context.

FORMAT#8 ONGOING CHARACTERS OR CELEBRITIES — Uses a recurring personality or celebrity for brand recall. This campaign centers on well-known athletes—Mark Abma, Michelle Parker, and Doug Stoup—highlighted directly in the title and campaign introduction. The Public Interest/Climate Reality Project context reinforces the use of their influential status to champion environmental issues. Though the genre is documentary/social experiment, the main creative device is leveraging these celebrities’ credibility and visibility to draw attention and create memorability for the cause (“Pro Snow”). The focus is squarely on these recognizable figures’ association with the campaign, not on a narrative arc or symbolic theme. Their identities serve as the campaign’s anchor, making the “Ongoing Characters or Celebrities” format the best fit. ADVERTISING FORMATS EXPLAINED: https://www.clapboard.com/blog/branding-and-advertising/brand-strategy/12-advertising-creative-formats

1. Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) – Positioned as a science-based advocacy group, NRDC leverages legal expertise and grassroots activism to drive environmental policy change, emphasizing clean energy and climate solutions with a strong blend of research and public engagement. 2. Sierra Club – As one of the oldest environmental organizations, Sierra Club builds mass public support through community-based activism and lobbying, focusing on conservation, clean energy, and combating climate change with a grassroots-first approach. 3. Greenpeace USA – Known for its direct action and high-visibility campaigns, Greenpeace adopts bold, media-savvy tactics to pressure corporations and governments on climate issues, highlighting urgency and radical environmental protection measures. 4. Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) – EDF combines scientific research, innovative partnerships with businesses, and policy advocacy to create market-based, pragmatic solutions for climate and environmental challenges, positioning itself as a bridge between science and actionable change. 5. Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) – UCS leverages expert scientific analysis and policy advocacy to address climate change and other environmental challenges, emphasizing evidence-based solutions and mobilizing scientists and citizens alike for informed climate action.

Q: What is Mark Abma, Michelle Parker, & Doug Stoup are Pro Snow about? A: Mark Abma, Michelle Parker, & Doug Stoup are Pro Snow is a 2014 film campaign created by Crispin Porter + Bogusky for The Climate Reality Project in the United States. The campaign features professional winter athletes Mark Abma, Michelle Parker, and Doug Stoup, using their real-life connection to snow sports to highlight the urgent impact of climate change on snowfall and winter environments. By framing the narrative as a dialogue between these athletes and snow itself, the campaign delivers a compelling message about environmental responsibility, aiming to engage sports enthusiasts and environmentally conscious viewers through authentic storytelling. Q: What creative device does Mark Abma, Michelle Parker, & Doug Stoup are Pro Snow use? A: According to Clapboard’s 12-format classification system, Mark Abma, Michelle Parker, & Doug Stoup are Pro Snow employs FORMAT#8 ONGOING CHARACTERS OR CELEBRITIES, leveraging the recognizability and credibility of professional athletes as the campaign’s central creative device. Rather than relying on a traditional narrative arc or symbolic motif, the campaign anchors its message in the personalities of Mark Abma, Michelle Parker, and Doug Stoup, using their ongoing public profiles to create brand recall and drive engagement with the climate action cause. Q: What is the campaign proposition for Mark Abma, Michelle Parker, & Doug Stoup are Pro Snow? A: The campaign proposition for Mark Abma, Michelle Parker, & Doug Stoup are Pro Snow centers on leveraging the authority and passion of professional athletes to underscore the stakes of climate change for both individuals and the environment. By positioning these athletes as trusted messengers whose livelihoods depend on healthy winter conditions, The Climate Reality Project aims to make climate action personally relevant to sports enthusiasts and environmentally conscious audiences. The campaign’s approach is designed to foster emotional engagement and mobilize viewers toward advocacy by connecting climate impacts to tangible, real-world experiences. Q: How does Mark Abma, Michelle Parker, & Doug Stoup are Pro Snow rank in Clapboard's archive? A: Mark Abma, Michelle Parker, & Doug Stoup are Pro Snow holds a Clapboard Campaign Score of 63/100. This score reflects the campaign’s creative ambition, execution quality, and cultural relevance as evaluated by Clapboard’s global ad archive. Q: Who are the competitors in The Climate Reality Project's category? A: In the public service and environmental advocacy sector, The Climate Reality Project competes with organizations such as the Natural Resources Defense Council, which emphasizes science-based policy change and grassroots activism; Sierra Club, known for its community-driven conservation and clean energy initiatives; Greenpeace USA, which adopts direct action and high-visibility campaigns to drive urgent climate messaging; Environmental Defense Fund, which forges innovative business partnerships for pragmatic climate solutions; and the Union of Concerned Scientists, which mobilizes scientific expertise and citizen engagement for evidence-based climate action.