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WSIB: Commercials Go Too Far?

DekuStickDekuStick Registered User regular
edited November 2006 in Debate and/or Discourse
Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board has a campaign "There Really Are No Accidents". They use the following commercials to make people aware of the dangers they face at work and that they have the right be safe and refuse anything the worker finds unsafe.

Girl on an unsafe ladder

Forklift worker impaled

Charred man sits up at his funeral

I think these commercials really do go too far in the sense that if I were younger these would no doubt give me some awful night terrors. I see one of these commercials just about every break. I think WSIB could have gone about these ads in a more tasteful manner without resorting to shock material. Perhaps making danger aware to the viewer and a fellow co-worker stops the employee in danger and explains the danger before them. The employee would then reply with something along the lines of "Whoa...I was never informed". What do you think? Have these commercials crossed the line or do you find them to be perfectly appropriate?

DekuStick on

Posts

  • MikeManMikeMan Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    I think they're well done.

    They're a little brutal, but they're honest.

    They make people think, and not just tune out like I know I would if I heard yet another Wear your safety goggles! jingle.

    MikeMan on
  • DarkPrimusDarkPrimus Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    Best Safety Video Ever?

    Staple Haufser Klaus, of course.

    DarkPrimus on
  • KungFuKungFu Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    I don't think they have gone too far.

    I think they probably work too.

    KungFu on
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    edited November 2006
    They're not as good as Think Before You Look (MPEG).

    The original version of this didn't have voiceover. Just text. I thought it was better that way.

    Feral on
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  • mcdermottmcdermott Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    I think they're good. They don't bother me nearly as much as some of the anti-drug and anti-smoking ones we have down here, especially because a lot of people really don't fully understand just how dangerous even relatively benign workplaces can be...such as the retail environment in the first one.

    Also, watching that chick fall off the ladder actually caught my attention for some strange reason...every safety video I've ever seen has me tuning out within about 3 seconds.

    I wouldn't put them on during children's programming...but otherwise I'm not seeing any real problem.

    mcdermott on
  • SenjutsuSenjutsu thot enthusiast Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    Brutal, but honest.

    They only air them in select timespots, it's not like this is run on YTV during SpongeBob

    Senjutsu on
  • werehippywerehippy Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    These ARE a bit rough, but in their favor they are the only safety related video that didn't have me mentally hearing circus music (Doot doot do-do-do-do doot doot do do, DOOT do-do-do-do, DOOT do-do-do-do ...... ) immediately, and they do leave a hell of an impression. As long as they aren't slotted in during kiddie cartoons or what have you I wouldn't worry about it.

    werehippy on
  • DekuStickDekuStick Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    I understand the need to explain the dangers and rights you have as an employee to be safe at the work place but I just don't know. They certainly do their job and are really good videos but I just can't help thinking of the scarred children. It's probably the only thing that's really standing out to me. I just feel that commercials need to be a little more restrained perhaps. Maybe a warning of the graphic nature. Television shows always inform a target age group at the top corner every time it comes back on from a break. Maybe we need to see some of those on commercials? Maybe it's a good thing that children are seeing these so the dangers are shown to them and the lesson is taught early.

    Growing up I had a tv in my room and would often stay up later than I was allowed to watching. I also know for a fact these would probably have me scrambling for the remote as a kid. Though having these on later does shield a lot of the younger audience from them.

    DekuStick on
  • mcdermottmcdermott Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    DekuStick wrote:
    Maybe a warning of the graphic nature.

    On the ladder one at least (and possibly the forklift one) this would largely blunt the impact of them. The first time somebody sees it, it's going to grab their attention...by putting a disclaimer in front of it you prepare them, and lose any element of surprise.

    mcdermott on
  • JayKaosJayKaos Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    Must find the link to those spike tv commercials (maybe it was G4)...nothing quite like a deer threatening to make everything you love dissappear.

    Ah, here we are. Yep, G4.
    http://youtube.com/watch?v=YxNoWvhvaJ8&mode=related&search=
    http://youtube.com/watch?v=HGRzbOCr2uQ&mode=related&search=
    http://youtube.com/watch?v=1GkxXw76wBg&mode=related&search=

    Now that is the stuff of nightmares.

    JayKaos on
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  • DarkPrimusDarkPrimus Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    JayKaos wrote:
    Must find the link to those spike tv commercials (maybe it was G4)...nothing quite like a deer threatening to make everything you love dissappear.

    Ah, here we are. Yep, G4.
    http://youtube.com/watch?v=YxNoWvhvaJ8&mode=related&search=
    http://youtube.com/watch?v=HGRzbOCr2uQ&mode=related&search=
    http://youtube.com/watch?v=1GkxXw76wBg&mode=related&search=

    Now that is the stuff of nightmares.

    The deer one is definately the best. The butterfly is a second.

    The guinea pig makes no sense, because it's basically already punished him for no reason.

    DarkPrimus on
  • DekuStickDekuStick Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    DarkPrimus wrote:
    JayKaos wrote:
    Must find the link to those spike tv commercials (maybe it was G4)...nothing quite like a deer threatening to make everything you love dissappear.

    Ah, here we are. Yep, G4.
    http://youtube.com/watch?v=YxNoWvhvaJ8&mode=related&search=
    http://youtube.com/watch?v=HGRzbOCr2uQ&mode=related&search=
    http://youtube.com/watch?v=1GkxXw76wBg&mode=related&search=

    Now that is the stuff of nightmares.

    The deer one is definately the best. The butterfly is a second.

    The guinea pig makes no sense, because it's basically already punished him for no reason.

    That proves the guinea pig means some serious business.

    DekuStick on
  • mcdermottmcdermott Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    DarkPrimus wrote:
    JayKaos wrote:
    Must find the link to those spike tv commercials (maybe it was G4)...nothing quite like a deer threatening to make everything you love dissappear.

    Ah, here we are. Yep, G4.
    http://youtube.com/watch?v=YxNoWvhvaJ8&mode=related&search=
    http://youtube.com/watch?v=HGRzbOCr2uQ&mode=related&search=
    http://youtube.com/watch?v=1GkxXw76wBg&mode=related&search=

    Now that is the stuff of nightmares.

    The deer one is definately the best. The butterfly is a second.

    The guinea pig makes no sense, because it's basically already punished him for no reason.

    It punished him preemptively to make sure he knew it wasn't fucking around. You can still live with one kidney.

    The deer was definitely creepier, though.

    mcdermott on
  • mccmcc glitch Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited November 2006
    The lesson here is to never watch television, except illegally downloaded off the internet with the commercials stripped out.

    mcc on
  • werehippywerehippy Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    DekuStick wrote:
    I understand the need to explain the dangers and rights you have as an employee to be safe at the work place but I just don't know. They certainly do their job and are really good videos but I just can't help thinking of the scarred children.

    I actually am a bit torn about this. My rule of thumb tends to be "If all you've got is 'Won't you think of the CHILDREN?!?' fuck whatever you have to say," but there is something to be said against showing people fucked up images interspliced with normal programming.

    I guess as long as these aren't shown during any programming aimed specifically at kids, free speech/public service trumps coddling children. At the end of the day, the worst case scenario is a kid sees them and has nightmares for awhile, which is something more or less inevitable in every child's life. Every kid will at some point see something that freaks them out, and something like this that'll screw them up short term but have no lasting effects is relatively benign in the grand scheme of things.

    werehippy on
  • Der Waffle MousDer Waffle Mous Blame this on the misfortune of your birth. New Yark, New Yark.Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    Those are pretty much just following the example that Quebec set a few years back on french-language TV.


    Now those were some really fucking disturbing PSA's.

    Der Waffle Mous on
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  • werehippywerehippy Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    mcdermott wrote:
    DarkPrimus wrote:
    JayKaos wrote:
    Must find the link to those spike tv commercials (maybe it was G4)...nothing quite like a deer threatening to make everything you love dissappear.

    Ah, here we are. Yep, G4.
    http://youtube.com/watch?v=YxNoWvhvaJ8&mode=related&search=
    http://youtube.com/watch?v=HGRzbOCr2uQ&mode=related&search=
    http://youtube.com/watch?v=1GkxXw76wBg&mode=related&search=

    Now that is the stuff of nightmares.

    The deer one is definately the best. The butterfly is a second.

    The guinea pig makes no sense, because it's basically already punished him for no reason.

    It punished him preemptively to make sure he knew it wasn't fucking around. You can still live with one kidney.

    The deer was definitely creepier, though.

    I kind of half wanted butterfly to open the bag. What the hell bleeds, twitches, groan/growls, and is still scary enough to be threatening?

    werehippy on
  • IncenjucarIncenjucar VChatter Seattle, WARegistered User regular
    edited November 2006
    I support it.

    Retail is full of deadly shit, and the construction industry is a giant death trap, and they need all the help they can get.

    OSHA's regulations go for miles for a reason.

    Also: Do not ever be in a situation where you can't get the hell away from a car backing up in to another car if you want your torso to remain attached to your ass.

    Incenjucar on
  • FloofyFloofy Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    I think the first three commercials are pretty effective- they're hard hitting, perhaps, but the surrealism softens the blow.

    There's public safety campaigns here in the UK I have major problems with, however, in particular those done by the THINK! Road Safety group. Almost every ad I've seen done by them makes me just pissed off rather than considering the message they're trying to get across. This is one of the worst I've seen:

    http://www.thinkroadsafety.gov.uk/campaigns/teenagers/download/050819-teens.mpg

    It's uneccesarily realistic, and seems to be saying that if you get run down, it's your own damn fault kiddies. There's just such a lack of campassion/sensitivity in the way it's been handled I want to punch whoever made it in the face.

    There's also a bunch of ads they've been plastering all over the buses around here: graphic posters of the aftermaths of road accidents (Ie, a guy partially scalped by a steering wheel) with captions like "First date?" and "Night out with your mates?". It's like they've taken a long hard look at the line between hard-hitting and direspectful and pissed all over it.

    Floofy on
  • GolemGolem of Sand Saint Joseph, MORegistered User regular
    edited November 2006
    mcc wrote:
    The lesson here is to never watch television, except illegally downloaded off the internet with the commercials stripped out.

    :^: Oh course you know this means you've been sig'd.

    Golem on
  • Grid SystemGrid System Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    As someone who has seen a co-worker nearly die because of unsafe working conditions, I wholly support the ads. The ladder one really hit close to home and I don't think I'll ever watch it again, but it sure as hell gets the point across.

    People need to know how dangerous things can be. You can't communicate that by pussyfooting around the issue. And if a few kids are scared shitless of ladders, well, so much the better I say. They'll not run the risk of falling off any, and they'll be sure that nobody around them does either.

    Grid System on
  • Descendant XDescendant X Skyrim is my god now. Outpost 31Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    Is it wrong that those commercials made me laugh?

    Yes?

    Ah.

    ...

    I'm going to hell.

    On topic, I don't really see what's wrong with them. They're not going to be aired on YTV or Teletoon, and probably won't be on during family-oriented programming. They serve a good purpose and are a damn sight better than the crap that I've had to watch during staff training with CSC. (Although the hostage video was pretty fucked up. Simulated rape FTL.) They'll probably get some letters, but for the most part they'll be effective in transmitting their message.

    Descendant X on
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  • IShallRiseAgainIShallRiseAgain Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    Yeah I dont see anything wrong with those commercials. they actually have a message unlike horror movie advertisments. Those things scared the heck out of me as a kid and I still will be sometimes momentarily scared if they have that one last scream thing.

    IShallRiseAgain on
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  • Torso BoyTorso Boy Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    I was surprised and impressed when I saw the ladder one on TV. Frankly going too far is, in this context, fairly appropriate. I actually gawked at the TV, which is the point, and the message at the end keeps it well within the realm of good taste IMHO.

    Torso Boy on
  • Nova_CNova_C I have the need The need for speedRegistered User regular
    edited November 2006
    I don't think they went to far at all. The ladder one I think was especially good. In the other two, the actual accident was either masked (By the falling bars) or occured in the past tense.

    Besides, I think kids are more resilient than many give them credit for. I enjoyed my nightmares, anyway. :P

    Nova_C on
  • TheAlbaniacTheAlbaniac Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    This thread needs more links to disturbing commercials

    TheAlbaniac on
  • LondonBridgeLondonBridge __BANNED USERS regular
    edited November 2006
    Whoa, them dudes up north are pretty hard core. Must be all that hockey.

    LondonBridge on
  • mcdermottmcdermott Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    Nova_C wrote:
    I don't think they went to far at all. The ladder one I think was especially good. In the other two, the actual accident was either masked (By the falling bars) or occured in the past tense.

    Besides, I think kids are more resilient than many give them credit for. I enjoyed my nightmares, anyway. :P

    The ladder one is probably one of the best PSA's I've ever seen. Both because it does an excellent job of grabbing attention, and is actually trying to warn people of a danger most of them don't think about.

    People know things like forklifts are dangerous. They know drugs are bad (mkay). But seriously, most people don't really think about how dangerous something as simple as a ladder really is, even in relatively safe environments (like a retail store).

    Well, except for me. But I'm deathly afraid of heights.

    mcdermott on
  • SkyGheNeSkyGheNe Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    I think these days kids see worse on daytime television than that.

    People get naked all the time nowadays.

    SkyGheNe on
  • AridholAridhol Daddliest Catch Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    As long as it's not spliced in with programming for 3-10 year olds I think these are excellent. If someone has nightmares about it they may THINK when they're about to do something unsafe.

    Aridhol on
  • ForarForar #432 Toronto, Ontario, CanadaRegistered User regular
    edited November 2006
    WHY wrote:
    Those are pretty much just following the example that Quebec set a few years back on french-language TV.

    Now those were some really fucking disturbing PSA's.

    Oh?

    Got links or descriptions?

    Forar on
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  • jothkijothki Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    mcdermott wrote:
    DarkPrimus wrote:
    JayKaos wrote:
    Must find the link to those spike tv commercials (maybe it was G4)...nothing quite like a deer threatening to make everything you love dissappear.

    Ah, here we are. Yep, G4.
    http://youtube.com/watch?v=YxNoWvhvaJ8&mode=related&search=
    http://youtube.com/watch?v=HGRzbOCr2uQ&mode=related&search=
    http://youtube.com/watch?v=1GkxXw76wBg&mode=related&search=

    Now that is the stuff of nightmares.

    The deer one is definately the best. The butterfly is a second.

    The guinea pig makes no sense, because it's basically already punished him for no reason.

    It punished him preemptively to make sure he knew it wasn't fucking around. You can still live with one kidney.

    The deer was definitely creepier, though.

    Yeah, it's a Segata Sanshiro sort of thing.

    jothki on
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