BC Hydro has launched a $1.9 million multi-media campaign to draw attention to “ridiculous” energy waste.
The campaign includes television, radio, print and online ads by DDB Canada.
One television ad shows a girl leaving a tap on, a man who parks his car and leaves the engine running, and a woman pulling out all the paper towels from a washroom dispenser.
The tag line is “The most ridiculous thing about wasting power is that, for some reason, we don’t think it is ridiculous.”
This message was reinforced with a street marketing event last week from event marketing firm Smak where actors lived in two three-by-six metre structures made out of recycled shipping containers with glass walls.
In the “efficient” cube, an actor used task lighting to read his newspaper, while in the inefficient cube the actor read his newspaper with a television on in the background, his computer turned on and every light burning.
Passersby could see how much energy was being used by checking out attached display readings.
“We want people to look at ways to be more efficient with their energies and related to that is just how ridiculously simple it is to reduce your waste,” said Simi Heer, a spokesperson for BC Hydro.
The television ads, which also air in Mandarin and Cantonese, are aimed at 25- to 54-year olds with a slight female skew.
Focus group research shows that women are the key decision makers in the home.
“We found that the idea of ‘waste’ got a strong reaction because nobody wants to be seen as being wasteful,” said Heer. “We are trying to make a fundamental change in people’s behavior and I think this bold message just draws attention to that.”
