Jun 1, 2015-2015
United States of America
Shell’s Last Iceberg Snow Cones
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ACTIVISTS/ACT.GROUPS/DESCRIPTION OF THE GROUP
Yes Men
TARGET
Royal Dutch Shell
WIDELY HELD BELIEF
Oil companies shouldn’t destroy the Arctic for profit.
CASE NARRATIVE
Issue and Opponent: Royal Dutch Shell spent billions on its plans to drill for oil in the Arctic. In the spring and summer of 2015, they were ramping up operations to go drill in areas made newly accessible by climate change.
Dilemma Action: A “Shell” street team popped up in NYC to promote the company’s push into the Arctic by offering hand-shaven ice made from the “last polar ice,” offering New Yorkers their “First Taste of the Last Frontier.”
Outcomes: Thanks to the action Shell abandoned plans to drill in the Arctic for the foreseeable future.
PRIMARY STRUGGLE/GOAL
NONVIOLENT TACTICS USED
DA TACTICS USED
Public illusion
CASE NARRATIVE WRITER
SUCCESS METRICS
8 / 12
(CONC) Concessions were made
(MC) Media Coverage
(MSYMP) Media coverage was sympathetic to the activists
(OR) Opponent response
(PS) Dilemma action built sympathy with the public
(REFR) Dilemma action reframed the narrative of the opponent
(SA) Dilemma action appealed to a broad segment of the public
Laugtivism
PART OF A LARGER CAMPAIGN
0 / 3
RESOURCES
Project documentation
Dilemma Actions Coding Guidebook
Case study documentation
Dilemma_Actions_Analysis_Dataset
SOURCES
The Yes Men. 2015. “Shell’s Last Iceberg Snow Cones,” Retrieved July 23, 2023. (https://theyesmen.org/project/snowcones).
Rolling Stone. 2015. “Watch the Yes Men Impersonate Shell, Make ‘Last Iceberg’ Snow Cones,” Retrieved July 23, 2023. (https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-news/watch-the-yes-men-impersonate-shell-make-last-iceberg-snow-cones-39641/).
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