A friend of mine actually told me about an ad for "clean coal" and sent me the link.
Clean Coal Ad
I can't say I agree or disagree with the ad itself because I don't know enough about coal technology to make an informed decision AND we have coal power in North Dakota that provides a lot of good paying jobs, just like we have oil work in North Dakota also paying well for a lot of people. So I don't feel prepared to make a hard and fast judgment about either, even though the environmentalist in me says "Down with fossil fuels!!"
The ad does the trick, however, in making a very vivid point about how 'clean' coal is. By spraying the coal dust around the room like an air freshener, it gives a great visual for what a coal plant is likely doing to our atmosphere.
And the fact that the Coen brothers directed it helps too.
I saw another ad by the same agency (Reality) on YouTube. The ads remind me of the Truth.com ads that warn about the dangers of smoking. This is the one I've seen most recently.
These ads are very provocatively done and do an excellent job of reaching people on a visceral level. And that seems to be the key to this type of ad campaign--get a gut reaction.
I do firmly believe smoking is bad for you and I do think everyone should quit. I have not made up my mind on the clean coal thing. But these types of ads would push me to lean in their direction because they make such striking points. After seeing them, I want to know more--know more details, know more facts, know for sure.
But I am a very inquisitive person. How do people who don't care to think much respond? Do they take the word of the ad? Or do they equally blindly dismiss it because it is so extreme in its point?
When constructing my own ad, I have to decide what kind of reaction I want in my audience--do I want a primal, gut-instinct response, or do I want a feel-good, warm and fuzzy response? Am I looking for a solely emotional connection at all? On what level do I want to connect with my audience?
Advertising becomes a very dicey psychological game, and if we aren't careful, it might take a sudden twist we weren't intending at all.
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I would have to say I agree that coal is definitely hurting our environment, a lot. It is a very dirty form of energy, but it is obviously getting the job done real well because it has been used for so many years, and years to come as it looks. I think that when we come up with a cleaner and possibly cheaper form of energy then the coal power will be cleaned out a little at a time. We have been putting up more and more windmills for power in ND so I think we are on the right track.
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