Shell plc, one of the largest oil and gas companies in the world, is trying to excite young gamers for their products with a new cool Fortnite map. However, players are primarily responding negatively and expressing sharp criticism. We have summarized the situation for you.
What does Shell have to do with Fortnite? The British oil company Shell has launched an advertising campaign centered around Fortnite. As part of this, they released the Fortnite world “Shell Ultimate Road Trips.” Here, players can visit six different areas with a car of their choice.
In the center, there is a Shell gas station that acts as a hub. To fully explore the map and play the offered obstacle courses, you need to keep driving back to this gas station. There, you refuel your car with Shell gasoline of the type “V-Power NiTRO+.”
What is Shell aiming for with this world? The company announced in June that it plans to refocus on oil and gas production, rather than renewable energies. The Fortnite map is part of a large-scale advertising campaign designed to bring these products closer to a younger audience.
Who is involved in the promotion? Currently, the advertising campaign is primarily running in the USA. According to Media Matters, Shell is collaborating with at least six English-speaking Twitch streamers, who together have a following of more than 5.5 million: Punisher, NateHill, Chica, BrookeAB, Astrobounder, and Grady_Rains.
Additionally, the campaign is being promoted on social media. The influencers Brianna Arsement, chillrogg, and TaySon promoted the map and brought the topic to their combined approximately 1.5 million Instagram, 8.5 million TikTok, and 11.6 million YouTube subscribers.
The gaming news outlet IGN is also involved in the campaign. As part of a paid collaboration between IGN and Shell, the site published an advertorial and three YouTube videos on the official IGN channel.
In hot water: The Fortnite community hates the Shell campaign
The community’s feedback on social media is overwhelmingly negative. They direct their criticism not only at Shell, but especially at the streamers and outlets that provide a platform for the fossil fuel industry.
The official trailer of the campaign on Shell’s YouTube channel currently has 21 upvotes and 68 comments, with over 2.3 million views. The most upvoted comment under the trailer is:
Join this season and fulfill the goal: “Inflict irreparable damage to the environment with Shell!”
Artofficial1986 via YouTube, 06.10.2023
The other comments are similarly themed. User mikeware5567 calls the campaign the “most desperate and pathetic attempt I have ever seen to appeal to ‘the kids’.” randomkiller2087, on the other hand, wonders if there will also be a cutscene in which evidence of climate change is buried.
The YouTube videos from IGN are not doing much better. The videos have only received between 76 and 44 upvotes. While parts two and three also only have three or four comments each, the commenters are ripping apart the first video, including a strong dose of sarcasm.
Here are a few examples:
- kaptainkooleio: “I can’t wait for IGN to officially announce that Call of Duty is partnering with Blackwater and Raytheon”
- 3Hatts: “It’s hard to play games when the world is burning… thanks Shell.”
- LegatoSkyheart: “You can thank Shell and other oil companies for the 36-degree weather in September.”
- CANTED_ANGLE: “Completely spineless”
The owners of the hardware channel gardiner_bryant also spoke out:
Shame on you, IGN, for:
gardiner_bryant via YouTube, 06.10.2023
A) this dreadful sponsored content
B) advertising for Shell to children
C) advertising for Fortnite to children
Also on TikTok, most users are harshly criticizing the campaign. Under a promo video by streamer Chica, for example, they want to know how much money she got for the ads. Others point out that half of the Fortnite players are still not old enough to drive.
Overall, Shell’s advertising campaign is not well received. Users make this clear in their comments and the lack of upvotes. Young people care about climate protection and generally pay attention to a better climate balance. Accordingly, renewable energies are closer to them than demonstrably environmentally harmful fossil fuels like oil and gas – the main business of companies like Shell.
Is this an official collaboration between Shell and Epic? No. Through the creative mode of Fortnite, anyone can build their own worlds in the game. This allows companies to create maps based on their brand without Epic needing to be directly involved. This is also the case with Shell’s advertising campaign.
What do you think? Do you like the new Fortnite map and the collaboration? Or do you see it like the majority of users and find the campaign absolutely unacceptable? Let us know in the comments.
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