Climate activists are calling on Shell to partner with popular video gamers and young online influencers to promote fossil fuels among younger generations. From a report: The oil giant, which reported quarterly profits of more than $5 billion in July, worked with Fortnite creators and paid popular players across multiple platforms to feature its “ultimate road trips” promotion, as part of a marketing campaign for a new gasoline he calls V- Power Nitro+.
According to the group Media Matters for America, the company targets young gamers on Twitch, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, encouraging them to refuel virtual vehicles at interactive Shell gas stations and post screenshots of the game with the hashtag #Shellroadtrips. Research by the nonprofit group found that Shell sponsored gaming livestreams on Twitch by at least six streamers with a total of 5.5 million followers. The study also identified three other content creators on other platforms who were paid to promote the campaign in their videos. According to Media Matters, these influencers have a total of 1.5 million followers on Instagram, 8.5 million on TikTok and 11.6 million on YouTube.
