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Exxon El Niño Satirical Ad

PR Campaign
Wednesday 21st October, 2026

Yellow Dot Studios released a mock Exxon advert voiced by Woody Harrelson, which shifts from sunny family scenes to storms, fires and floods as it satirises Big Oil’s climate messaging. Timed to warnings of a potentially severe El Niño, the video turns a familiar corporate ad format into a pointed climate warning.

Why it worked: It hijacked a familiar oil-company ad format with a celebrity voice and launched on the day El Niño hit, creating timely whiplash.

The lesson: Consider spoofing a well-known industry script with an unexpected narrator and release it the moment a forecasted event lands.

Yellow Dot Studios
3 Sources:

Coverage over time

How this story spread across the media

Publication Headline Date
rollingstone.com In Satirical Ad, Exxon Admits to Gaslighting Public on Climate Change Tuesday 9th July, 2024
deadline.com Adam McKay & Woody Harrelson Team For Darkly Comic “Exxon El Niño Commercial” Wednesday 21st October, 2026
avclub.com Adam McKay enlists Woody Harrelson for darkly satirical Exxon ad Wednesday 21st October, 2026
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