Olivia Colman, as you’ve never seen her before, stars in slick new campaign exposing UK pension fund ties to the fossil fuel industry

Lucky Generals

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In its latest work for Richard Curtis’ Make My Money Matter Campaign, Lucky Generals helps turn Academy-Award winner Olivia Colman into ‘Oblivia Coalmine’, a latex-wearing, potty-mouthed CEO of a fossil fuel company financed by UK pension holders.

In this slick star turn, “The Queen” and “The Favourite” actor is transformed into a smarmy, smug and self-righteous CEO, oozing evil and condescension, as she thanks the viewers on behalf of the fossil fuel industries for their generosity in unwittingly giving their pension funds to help them enjoy a bumper year of profits.

The campaign has been created to help Make My Money Matter raise public awareness of the damaging links between the UK pensions industry and the climate emergency. Make My Money Matter is launching the ad ahead of COP28 in UAE, and calling on all pension schemes to rule out investing in companies driving fossil fuel expansion.

The film, from production company Somesuch, is directed by Raine Allen-Miller, the critically acclaimed director of 2023’s ‘Rye Lane’, which wowed audiences at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and is nominated for a staggering 16 awards at the British Independent Film Awards.   

Clad in black latex, lounging in her opulent office and dripping in villainy, Oblivia explains that the cash from our pensions has helped “dig, drill and destroy” as never before, then cheerfully quipping that they even managed to throw a couple of wind turbines in to “keep Greta and her chums happy”, a reference to an increasing focus on greenwashing in the oil and gas industry.

As her patronising message of thanks continues, one of her colleagues pours her a glass of distinctly inky liquid from a champagne bottle as Oblivia concedes that while the global temperature may rise “a teensy-weensy bit”, this is nothing compared to their profits “which are literally soaring”. She raises her glass in a toast, only to spill the black liquid on her face and coat, eliciting a furious “Fracking hell”. 

Richard Curtis, Co-Founder of Make My Money Matter, said: “I’ve seen some dark, dystopian characters in my career, and that doesn’t even include Hugh Grant in Love Actually. But I think Oblivia Coalmine is right up there with the worst.  

At Make My Money Matter, we hope this sinister performance by Olivia Colman will highlight a more serious issue – that billions of pounds of our hard-earned pensions are driving the climate crisis. People across the UK want their  money to help our planet, not harm it and all our pension schemes must now pay attention, and take immediate and urgent action”

Actor Olivia Colman, said: “Fracking Hell, Oblivia Coalmine really is a nasty piece of work! But the scariest thing about her is that she represents something very real.  That’s why this is such an important campaign. I hope everyone who sees this ad realises the shocking - but unintended - impacts of our pensions and makes their money matter. It really is one of the most powerful things we can all do to protect the planet.”

Raine Allen-Miller, Director at Somesuch, said: “This was a joy to direct, a brilliant cause with a brilliant actor. I hope this message spreads far and wide and these pension schemes stop messing with our money!”

Danny Brooke-Taylor, Lucky Generals: The cruel irony is that whilst we all save for the future, the pension companies are investing in industries that are actively destroying it.”  

Research from Make My Money Matter shows a staggering £88 billion of UK pension savers’ money is invested in fossil fuel companies. This includes £20 billion in Shell alone, a company which, despite bumper profits, has in 2023 publicly rolled back on climate targets. 

New public polling shows that such investments are not just bad for the planet – but they are also unpopular with savers. Just 19% of UK pension holders support their scheme investing in oil and gas, compared to two-thirds (66%) who support their pension investing in renewables.

Despite this, industry action on this agenda is painfully slow. Not one UK pension scheme has committed to stopping finance for fossil fuel expansion, despite clear guidance from the International Energy Agency that new oil and gas is incompatible with the 1.5-degree warming target of the Paris Climate Agreement.