Public Transit

Greetings!
Today we will take a look at a commercial created by the Environmental Defense Fund that encourages Americans to fight global warming by taking the public transit instead of driving.



The Environmental Defense Fund is a national non-profit organization that started in 1967 and now has over 500,000 members. This campaign is meant to educate Americans and give a wake-up call that global warming is a very serious environmental issue that is extremely dangerous and needs urgent help to fight it.
The organization creates commercials where American citizens can relate because of the familiarity but they add an element that strike viewers and try to impact their feelings to make viewers relate yet be enlightened by that striking element in the commercials.

We randomly selected 2 people in the cafeteria who volunteered to spend a few minutes of their time to watch the commercial and write the impact it had on them in a paragraph and this is what we got:

Sabrina
"The ad was very simple in portraying what they wanted at the end, in case people did not fully understand the commercial (like me). I am not so aware about the polar bears so I am guessing that they are becoming extinct like a lot of the animals in the world. But I do understand the main point of the ad is to take the public transit and carpool instead of driving and wasting the earth's resources. I already do take the public transit due to convenience and lack of money because I am a student. And I am aware that I am helping the environment and that is what makes me happy. I do try to do little things here and there like recycle when I can and conserve electricity and water at home because that is what I learned while growing up. It also burns my money if I do use too much of the resources also, so I believe that also helps me care more.
Overall, the ad was very well thought out and the idea is very memorable. The polar bears were really cute and I believe that helps the younger people connect to the message (like the little girl in the ad that ran to them)."

Milton
"The impact was more of a reminder for me since I am aware of global warming and have watched Al Gore's 'Inconvenient Truth' documentary about the polar bears. The documentary was quite shocking and left a big impression on me but even so, I don't believe I have changed much from what I usually do. From using public transit and my bike to get around to recycling my garbage and trying to be more green in my daily purchases and decisions, it's the same as I was before. But what the documentary did was helped broaden my knowledge about the world issue and share it with people to start caring and start doing something (even if it's small) about the environment.
The idea of the polar bears inflating over the subway vents on the street was really smart and I believe that it will work for all kinds of people because it's such a simple message and straight forward. And if all fails, the messages at the end will portray the meaning behind the ad, so it will not fail. I loved the ad and would share it with others."

The commercial is not promoting to change everyone's lives drastically but it helps people realize that something so simple as taking the public transit instead of the car will help make a difference. And with each small change that people do, it adds up to a bigger change for the world. The striking element in the normal familiar setting is the plastic inflatable polar bears that inflate on top of the subway air vents on the streets. The dull setting helps the white polar bears stand out and the filming of the people's reactions as they watch the polar bears inflate and move like they are alive shows that people are noticing the element. Even the little girl running to the polar bears show that polar bears are loved by the young generations that will take care of the world after us, so we must take action to save what our children and next generations love and adore.

Public transit has become a normal part of many of our lives to getting around Toronto but there is still not enough people. The fact that people find it inconvenient to go to the corner (already) convenient store and rely on the car tells us a great deal about the sustainable knowledge of the people and where we are heading. There needs to be more ads and awareness about being sustainable in local neighborhoods and more ways to motivate people to incorporating a more sustainable way of living.

Thanks for your time!

EnviroG4