After the Snuggie first appeared on late-night television, with the fan following that ensued thereafter, no one guessed that another commercial could ever compete for the same viral viewership.
People have started to take notice of the new Chinese commercials whose product, “Fresh Air,” promises to deliver just that. These baby blue canisters that come with a variety of “flavors” and a breathing mask, can be yours for just 25 cents. The distributor will even throw in a holster complete with six canister holders for the “six for the price of one” deal.
But this commercial isn’t like other gimmicks that frequent the arena of the “As Seen On TV.” It’s part of the Clean Air Network’s new anti-pollution campaign.
Based out of Hong Kong, the Clean Air Network is a non-governmental group dedicated to promoting the awareness and effects of air pollution.
In a comment to the New York Times “Green Blog,” Clean Air Network chief executive Joanne Ooi said the commercial is meant “to reach younger people, who are in a way our pivotal audience, but whose apathy can be harder to break through.’’
Since it was posted on YouTube Aug. 25, the Cantonese version of the commercial has received over 170,050 views.
While we could stop our interest in the video with its purely witty suggestiveness or obvious irony, we would be doing China, and ourselves, a disservice.
The video, which ends saying, “if we do nothing about Hong Kong’s air pollution today, we can look forward to [canned fresh air] tomorrow,” points to the importance of enacting change.
In a society where most of us have grown up warned of everything from global warming to the effects of tobacco use, the issue of air pollution is no new matter; but neither are the tactics that the organizations behind these warnings employ to get viewers’ attention.
Ads like those produced by organizations such as Truth and The Meth Project have used things like humor, irony and, all too often, startling imagery to reach audiences.
These ads that once served similar purposes as public service announcements, now employ scare-tactics to ensure their message is not quickly forgotten.
What’s more concerning isn’t that these commercials exist, but that they have to.
Viewers are much more likely to remember an ad’s message when it uses satire, stark dialogue or disturbing imagery. However, simply remembering the ad’s message is far from the organizations’ ultimate goal, which is for viewers to respond to the message by taking it to heart, and work toward making change.
Rather than saying, “carpool: It’s better for the air,” the Clean Air Network devised an innovative campaign centered around a phony product that claims to help users master “exciting new skills like balloon animals and yodeling.” Its message becomes much more memorable than “clean air is cool.” It becomes one that says, “make a difference because if you don’t, we can guarantee products like these will exist one day.”
It is possible that commercials following those made by the Clean Air Network will prompt viewers to help our environment, save our oceans, rid the world of tobacco addiction and maybe even make the air in cities like Hong Kong, London and New York more breathable — but I wouldn’t hold your breath if I were you.
Send some fresh comments to jrstone3@asu.edu
