42 GENIUS INTERVIEW Aaron Matthews, BAFTA
THE HOST WITH THE MOST Big brands now host servers in carbon-neutral facilities
considered that, then you’re kind of risking the authenticity. FEED: Is there a comparison to be made with showing other harmful behaviours in TV, say, showing smoking or drug use? AARON MATTHEWS: I think it’s exactly the same. There are lots of different social interventions the industry has done in the past. One is, obviously, Ofcom regulations about what sugar and fat content you can see on the plates of the characters in UK continuing dramas. Another example is around the use of seat belts in children’s programming, which has largely been in response to audience pressure. So, Peppa Pig wears a seat belt now, because parents wrote in and asked her to. Another example is highlighting designated drivers, which was a project in the 1980s between Harvard University and some American soaps. The idea was to slip the term ‘designated driver’ into soaps to create a culture where drink-driving became less acceptable. It’s thinking about the problems society is facing – what is our opportunity as an industry, with this huge, unrivalled platform, to make a contribution to turning it around? FEED: There has been an aggressive, deliberate push to roll back sustainability thinking in multiple places throughout the world. It
better progress without Trump and whatever-his-name-is in Brazil.
seems like, as there becomes greater awareness in some quarters, there’s an equal or greater pushback in others. AARON MATTHEWS: Yeah. I would agree, but I’m a stubborn optimist. Of course, the greater something grows in awareness, the greater the threat to people with a vested interest. It’s not at all surprising to me we’re seeing a kind of pushback against the mood and the general direction. I think it would be surprising if that wasn’t the case. Obviously, politics is hugely important, but it’s only part of the global picture. We’re fortunate enough now it’s cheaper to make renewable energy than it is coal, nuclear and any other way you make energy. So, at some point, the politician doesn’t really matter. Of course, we would be making TRANSMIT IT FROM ANANTENNAONTOP OFAHILL THE LOWEST CARBON WAY TO GET YOUR CONTENT TO AUDIENCES IS TO
FEED: [Jair] Bolsonaro.
AARON MATTHEWS: Yeah. But I’m optimistic. You have got to expect a pushback, because there are huge amounts of money involved here for companies who have got a vested interest. We are moving in the right direction and I’m optimistic we will get there. AARON MATTHEWS: We are launching a new resource called Planet Placement, which will be for industry creatives. To help them better understand opportunities to inspire their audiences to live sustainably. I think, for a lot of people, it feels a bit like, ‘Hmm, how am I going to write recycling into my programming?’ and that comes from a lack of understanding about what the transition towards sustainable living really means. Sustainable living is about fashion, it’s about diet, it’s about travel, it’s about communities, it’s about every aspect of our lives, but that’s still not where the industry is, in terms of its thinking. So, with this resource, we want to really introduce sustainability in the widest, broadest sense, to the industry and highlight the different opportunities for different genres to pick up these narratives and run with them. FEED: What is next for Albert?
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