A-ha, law breaking and effective green campaigning

I confess that I had missed the important role played by A-ha in promoting the spread of electric cars, and in particular the very smart campaign tactic they used. Smart because it highlighted an issue in a way that built support from the public rather than annoyed the public. After all, their tactic meant giving money to the government.

Wired explains:

It was 1988 when activist Frederic Hauge, along with fellow green campaigners from the band A-ha, travelled to the Swiss city of Bern, where they found the red Fiat. A previous owner had converted the car to run off a lead battery, and the group planned to use the vehicle to persuade the Norwegian government to encourage electric vehicle uptake.

The Fiat became the centrepiece of a nine-year campaign in which Hauge and members of A-ha drove the car on Norway’s toll roads without paying. The fines racked up, and when they remained unpaid, the vehicle would be impounded and sold at auction, where Hauge would buy it back and repeat the cycle of toll dodging.

The full piece is well worth a read.

All of which is a good excuse for some A-ha:

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