The Oui Pub device launched this Thursday

France is taking another step in the fight against advertising waste. From this Thursday 1^is September, the Oui Pub system, adopted by the National Assembly as part of the 2021 climate and resilience law and inspired by the proposals of the citizens’ convention, comes into action in fourteen territories across the country. Over the next three years, residents of the city of Bordeaux, the Urban Community of Dunkirk or the Côtes-d’Armor will no longer receive a printed leaflet if they decide not to affix a “Oui Pub” label to their inbox. letters.

The savings could be significant for communities of municipalities, like Lanvollon (Côtes-d’Armor). According to Jean-Michel Geffroy, president of Leff Armor Community, 200 tons of advertisements out of 400 will no longer be thrown directly into the trash thanks to this device. The government, supported by the Environment and Energy Management Agency (Ademe), will take stock of this test in 2025.

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Launched in 2005, the Stop Pub initiative did not meet with the expected success. In 2021, less than 15% of mailboxes were equipped with such a sticker. This convinced the deputies to impose a reverse logic. Before, the principle was to distribute flyers unless otherwise specified (Stop Pub). Now, the principle is not to distribute these advertisements unless otherwise specified (Oui Pub).

Printers worried

With the arrival of this new system, food retail players and specialized brands, such as Fnac, which are the main producers of printed catalogs, are preparing to reduce their printing volume. “We expect all the same that some of the loyal consumers, who often hunt for promotions slipped into the catalogs, decide to attach the Oui Pub sticker. All the more so in the current economic context, marked by inflation,” explains Philippe Joguet, director of sustainable development and CSR of the Fédération du commerce et de la distribution (FCD). Member companies of the federation are awaiting the first feedback from flyer distributors, such as Adrexo, who are responsible for listing the number of mailboxes that have chosen to receive advertising in the coming weeks. “The objective for all is not to overprint in order to avoid environmental but also economic waste»abounds the professional.

To continue to promote their promotional operations in the 14 territories concerned, the distributors will rely a little more on communication by email.

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On the side of flyer printers, on the other hand, this experiment makes us fear the worst. Indeed, sector giants such as the Riccobono Group fear that it will mark the end of their economic model. “Today, the experiment points represent quantities that are not yet significantly large enough to cause great harm to our volume of activity”, explains Christophe Uggeri, Project Manager at Riccobono. “On the other hand, if the system were to extend to the whole country, our model, which is based both on the printing, with the same machines, of printed advertising material and that of the magazine press, would be completely jostled»he continues. Even before the entry into force of Oui Pub, the Carrefour group took the initiative to announce in February the gradual cessation of the distribution of paper prospectuses. “In a political context punctuated by environmental issues, other brands could be tempted to follow the movement”worries Christophe Uggeri. In the coming months, printers hope to be able to voice their concerns with the Ministry of Ecology. They want the National Assembly to take into account the carbon footprint of digital advertising in the debates.