The Department of Environment of the Lanzarote Island Council has sanctioned the Swiss sports brand company X-Bionic for filming an advertising campaign in several protected areas of Lanzarote, as Francisco Fabelo, head of the area, confirmed to La Voz.
The events date back to last year 2025, when the company decided to carry out its advertising campaign in different natural landscapes of the island without having requested the relevant permits. After the completion of these recordings and their publication on the brand's different social networks, the Department of Environment realized that the company had not requested the necessary authorization and, according to reports from the area, "they also had no intention of asking for it".
The campaign was carried out in three different municipalities of Lanzarote: Haría, Teguise and Tinajo. Some of the locations included Caldera Blanca, the Famara Cliff and other areas of the Los Volcanes Natural Park, a sensitive and protected area due to its great biodiversity and uniqueness. In the images, the models can be seen running, causing large footprints in the territory.
These recordings, according to the Ministry of Environment, were taken with different models, cameras and drones. For the use of the latter, whether for a commercial or leisure purpose, a special permit must be requested, something that this company also did not do.
After being aware of the infraction committed, the brand itself has responded to the Cabildo de Lanzarote that they were outside the limits of the protected areas, something that Environment denies as the places where they were recording can be perfectly observed in the images.
In one of the several publications of Instagram of the campaign filmed in Lanzarote, the profile of the Ministry of Environment left a comment more than a month ago demanding the elimination of the images as it was an environmental crime. "These images have been taken without authorization in a protected natural area of the island of Lanzarote. These acts constitute an environmental infraction, therefore, these images must be deleted immediately", the area warned the company.
Despite this request, the company has not yet deleted any of the images from the advertising campaign. Now, X-Bionic faces a fine that can range from 300 to 3,000 euros, depending on the seriousness of the infraction and if it has affected endemic flora or fauna species, such as ground-nesting birds.
Some images that turn into a "call effect"
Francisco Fabelo, head of the Environment area, has pointed out to La Voz that this type of infractions cause a "call effect", which makes many of the people imitate these behaviors illegal by believing that they are permitted.
This call effect is amplified by its dissemination on social networks, which makes it so that it reaches many more people in very little time and in a massive way.