Originally Posted by
Roody
The bike to work stuff is pretty lame. Cool in the 90s but played out.
I actually think negativity is the way to go. A lot of psychology studies show that negative messages are more effective. (That's why politicians use them all the time.) For carfree ad campaigns, the message should be shame based:
"The city put in all of these great bike lanes and you wimps are too lazy to use them. What's wrong with you people? Don't you care about the climate? It wouldn't kill you to get a little exercise either."
and btw, if you have made a commitment to yourself to be carfree, and then you use a car, then yes you have failed. It's nothing to beat yourself up about, but it is a failure. Just like if you committed to work out four times a week and you only work out twice, you have failed. Figure out what went wrong and do better next week.
I hardly think that very many people will bother to walk or cycle to work if physical fitness is the only reason given for doing so. All of the advantages must be on the table, including the amount of money one might be expected to save and the fact that it's a green way of getting around. This isn't negativity; it's honesty. If a few climate change deniers are put off by such a message, so be it.