MediaCorp commercial shocks some

Did this image jolt you?
MediaCorp commercial shocks some, but gets its message on earth’sdestruction across

Lin Yanqin, Today Online 6 Jun 08;

THE strong message was meant to grab attention and urge viewers to think — and that is exactly what MediaCorp’s “Saving Gaia” :television commercial has done.

It opens with a shot of tar being poured on a mannequin of a boy. Then smoke and haze, representing air pollution, engulfs the figure. Finally, the mannequin’s head is sawn with a chainsaw — representing deforestation — before it dissolves into a real child’s face.

The message then flashes across the screen: Think about what we’re destroying.

The video’s creators had meant for such images to drive home the message that the “thoughtless pollution and destruction we are inflicting on planet earth” was being inflicted “upon ourselves and future generations”.

But what they did not bargain for, was the controversy such stark imagery generated.

One woman quoted in a media report claimed she found it hard to sleep afterwards. Another criticism was that children would find the commercial frightening.

A viewer wrote on an environment issues website: “The provocative and shocking advertisement campaign is an unfortunate: distraction that may result in some viewers feeling disgusted and helpless.”

Mr Alan Seah, who heads MediaCorp’s creative services department, said that “given the gravity of the issues facing our planet, a strong message was not uncalled for”.

The pollution and violence, Mr Seah pointed out, was done not to a real child but an inanimate mannequin. And while some have remarked that the dark viscous substance resembled blood, it was actually tar, he emphasised.

A few naysayers aside, the commercial has gotten good response from viewers who understand the need to pro-actively do one’s bit to save the environment,Mr Seah noted.

Student Ms Jiang Chuan, 20, said of the ad: “I found it disturbing but I think it means that message also got across, because destroying the earth is like destroying our children’s lives. They are the ones who are going to bear the consequences.”

MEDIA magazine Southeast Asia editor Robin Hicks suggested that instead of shock tactics, it might be better to present the issue in a more positive light.

“The shock tactic is fine in principle, but there could have been a website address in the closing frame of the ad, linking viewers to information on the steps they can take to reduce their carbon footprint (or) to recycle,” said Mr Hicks.

Debating the execution, however, was missing the point, he added. “It’s fantastic that MediaCorp is doing something to start debate about climate change. Long overdue, I say.”