Olivia Colman dresses as a latex-wearing oil executive ‘Oblivia Coalmine’ in a new campaign video spotlighting pension fund ties to fossil fuels.
The Academy Award-winning actor’s sinister character thanks pension savers for allowing oil and gas companies to “dig, drill and destroy more of the planet than ever before.”
She spills an oily black liquid over her face while toasting with a champagne glass, adding: “We’ve even managed to build a few little wind turbines to keep Greta [Thunberg] and her little chums happy. Cute.. Please keep sending your pensions our way. You know the drill!”
Created for Make My Money Matter, a campaign led by Love Actually director Richard Curtis, the advert encourages people to tell their pension schemes to remove their investments in fossil fuel projects.
The ad – launched as COP28 climate talks get underway in Dubai – highlights research from the group that found £88 billion of UK pension savers’ money goes to fossil fuel companies, including £20 billion to oil giant Shell alone (£905 of the average UK pension pot).
Commenting on the video, Ms Colman said: “Fracking hell, Oblivia Coalmine really is a nasty piece of work. But the scariest thing about her is that she represents something very real. That’s why this is such an important campaign. I hope everyone who sees this ad realises the shocking, but unintended, impacts of our pensions and makes their money matter.
“It really is one of the most powerful things we can all do to protect the planet.”
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The advert, created by Lucky Generals and directed by Raine Allen-Miller, coincides with recent polling that reveals 19 per cent of pension savers support their money going towards oil and gas and 66 per cent want it to go to renewables.
David Hayman, the campaign’s director, said pension funds invest in fossil fuels because it has typically provided a good return, but this is likely to change with the global energy transition, which is putting the money increasingly at risk.
He said: “Pension funds are investing billions each year in companies developing new oil and gas, this is bad for people and bad for the planet.
Mr Curtis said: “I’ve seen some dark, dystopian characters in my career, and that doesn’t even include Hugh Grant in Love Actually. But I think Oblivia Coalmine is right up there with the worst. At Make My Money Matter, we hope this sinister performance by Olivia Colman highlights a more serious issue – that billions of pounds of our hard-earned pensions are driving the climate crisis.
“People across the UK want their money to help our planet, not harm it and all our pension schemes must now pay attention and take immediate and urgent action.”
Richard Curtis frequently enlists A-list celebrities for his adverts, reuniting Game of Thrones’ Kit Harrington and his wife Rose Leslie on screen for a passionate kiss earlier this year.
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