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I usually don't watch a lot of TV, but recently I have been and noticed a couple of new ad campaigns that have been launched. The first being Volkswagens new "Safety Happens" campaign. The two ads, "4 hours (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZtpp4mO740)" and "Critique (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcUAiC-EzIY&mode=related&search=)", both depict every day accident from within the car. There's a third, but I can't seem to find it right now. I'm sure someone here has probably seen one of these commercials. I'm beginning to wonder if they're effective in getting the point across or if people think it's too much to show something that "shocking."
The other campaign I'm sure most people here haven't seen because it's done by the Canadian Governments Work Safety Board. This one I find to be a lot more eye opening than the VW campaign. The three ads, "Retail (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5kiz7GhJt0)", "Factory (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf_LWq88H5I)" and "Funeral (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oLPlhnPn0k)." Usually they go for the end result kind of ad. You know the one where they show you some kids mother and she tells her story about how her son/daughter died due to an unsafe workplace. We all scoff and say "His fault." Well, these ads take a different approach and show you the accident itself in a very interesting way. The first one I saw was "Retail" while I was on the phone. I stopped talking and actually took notice. Not only because of the shock value involved, but because I had actually put myself in situations like that and never really thought about the consequences. Sure, that doesn't always happen, but it still can and there are ways to make sure it never does. All in all I'm kind of impressed by the way the government is going about advertising this.
I don't know if there are any ads like this in the states. Be interesting to see more like this and if anyone here actually takes notice of this kind of advertising. Especially when it really isn't for some stupid reason.

They sure do get the point across.

I like the VW ads, but I think they are too clever for their own good. It took me a few careful viewings and their web site to understand that they were making a point about safety. The average citizen will just not get it, but they will watch.

I'll have to watch the other ads you linked.

I have gotten really turned off by shock ads.  Advertising is one thing that I can't control in my television viewing unless I'm willing to purchase a Tivo or some other such device.  I watch tv to escape from the violence and brutality of real life.  Apparently, I don't get to have that option anymore.  Working in the field of medicine has sensitized me to violence in the media and I find I continually watch less television because of it. 

Now, I understand the objective of these ads, I'd just like a way to opt out of the ones that contain unexpected violence.  Especially since I have enough common sense to know not to rewire my lighting while taking a shower. 

A shock ad to me is one of those ones that show you a gorgeous woman coming towards you all smiles before cutting away to the inevitable 'Canestan Cream' product shot.

It's like some pavlovian thing to wean me off sex.

Holy fuck. Those are a bit beyond the pale. Effective I suppose, but I can only think the money would have been better spent enforcing some of the violations they talked about instead of scaring the living shit out of people.

Pretty good ads. I think people should be shocked a bit. There are a lot of dumbasses out there who think safety regulations are stupid. Both the rretail and factory ones were great, I've bitched people out for those exact reasons in the past when I worked at walmart. Some people just don't think things through to the logical conclusion. Those should be in the training videos.

My point is that training videos and code enforcement is a better place for that than the TV.

I agree.

I don't know if it's too far. I think the whole point of the work safety campaign is to let employees know that they're allowed, by law, to walk off the job if they don't feel safe. A lot of younger employees have no idea what rights they have up here and the government wants them to know. They've been pushing this stuff for about 3-4 years now in different ways. They started off with a small thing about being able to walk off the job, then it was how to report anything an employer was doing that they shouldn't be and now this. Since its inception a lot of companies have had to make huge policy changes. It might just be a difference in what we're willing to open our eyes to up here, not to speak less of you guys down there. There was an old Mother Against Drunk Driving ad that didn't last long. Pretty much they show a drunk driver hitting a pedestrian and at her funeral was her husband and kids. People said it was uncalled for. Ironically enough that summer the number of drunk driving accidents/deaths went up some crazy amount.

Better than our anti-pot campaign here. At least people do hit pedestrians when drunk driving, or fall off ladders at work. When was the last time someone ran over a kid at a drive-through because they smoked pot? Not to mention you shouldn't be smoking and driving any more than you should be drinking and driving.

Bah. I'll stop before I get into a legalization rant, sorry.

These are all tame compared to the Road Safety ads we have here in Australia.



Those Canadian ones aren't shocking.. the people get up and talk... it's like slapstick...

Why do you want to miss your sister's recital or have a guy put his hand up your shirt at a party?  Do you hate your family and yourself? 

Have you seen Penn and Teller (http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-3653114296815352489&q=penn+and+telle) ?

Of course I have. Great show. The DVR is saying the new season starts in December!

Thanks for the link.  Pretty well-done piece. 

The VW ads make me want to buy a Volvo.

I was in the states for the previous two weeks and saw those VW ads for the first time.  Absolutely despicable.  It's one thing when it is some kind of service announcement, but this was nothing more than using questionable shock tactics to schlep cars.  I'm not squeamish...I've seen some pretty good ads here in Denmark that used similar methods, but they are actually getting a real point across.

Correct me if I am wrong, please, as my memory of the VW ads is a bit hazy:  At the end of the ad for one of them, isn't there some bold print put up showing the vehicle in question and boasting about some kind of "4 Star crash test rating?"  Am I wrong?  And more importantly, doesn't the scale in question go up to 5 stars?  It does in Europe.  In other words, do I have even more reason to be pissed at this advertisement campaign when their cars don't even reach the maximum safety standard, when loads of other cars actually do?

Depends on what model was in the ad. The 2006 Golf has a 5 star rating but the Jetta and Beetle have 4 stars for frontal impacts. The side impact ratings vary as well. You can view the US governemnt test stats here (http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/ncap/) if you are curious. I like these guys (http://www.iihs.org/ratings/default.aspx) better, though. They do offset frontal impacts which is a much tougher test.

I'm pretty sure it was a Jetta ad, so it seems my extra rage may be justified.   That is completely shitty.

Just as an update: The Canadian Government released statistics that explain why they've been pushing the "Prevent-It" ads. Statistically, in Canada, 5 people die every DAY because of a preventable accident at work.

That's like half of the population!

Not after the first day.

Working in a brewery must be difficult.

So that's why that Zamboni in the Toronto game was acting funny...

It was dead! A zomboni.

That made me groan out loud.   :roll:

A zamgroani?

It's a good thing you weren't trying to be witty or your would have farted out loud...