In what may be a first for the Federal Government, Health Canada
has posted its new anti-smoking ad about secondhand smoke in the home on YouTube.
Also in French. As of today I don't know of any other Health Department using YouTube officially. The traffic seems to remain low (the clip is not that exciting either).
Ottawa hopes anti-smoking ad attracts You Tube parodies - National Post
Health minister champions new media
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Tom Blackwell, National Post
In what may be a first for the federal government, Health Canada has posted its new anti-smoking ad on the You Tube Web site, with the unusual hope that Internet surfers will make fun of the spot.
If parodies of the ad start appearing on You Tube, young people will then seek out the original ad and its message about the perils of second-hand smoke, theorizes Tony Clement, the Health Minister and an avid user of the site himself.
In another new-media idea championed by the Minister, the department is producing podcasts, the first of which will feature a tracksuit-clad Mr. Clement doling out fitness and healthy eating tips. He would also like officials responsible for publicizing public-health information to look to the new generation of music videos for stylistic inspiration.
"I thought we should at least get into the 21st century at some point in 2006 when it comes to how we convey social marketing and, basically, the government's messages," said the Minister.
Mr. Clement's bespectacled, scholarly look belies a keen interest in alternative rock and other elements of pop culture not normally associated with middle aged politicians.
He said he first suggested about nine months ago that Health Canada use You Tube, where everyone from teenagers to major TV networks post videos that people can view for free on their computer or download to another device.
The response back then from officials? "What's You Tube?" recalls the Minister. The answer may be a little less of a mystery now, with the site's phenomenal popularity leading to its purchase by Internet giant Google for US$1.6-billion in October.
The department's new, $3- million anti-smoking campaign will use conventional media such as radio and TV, as well as disseminating information to local public health offices. The TV spot that has been posted on You Tube shows a woman smoking and blowing smoke out of an open window. But some of the fumes trail into the house, taking the form of ghostly hands that grasp at food, furniture, toys and even a toddler, as viewers are urged to create smoke-free living spaces.
A day after it was posted, the video had been viewed fewer than 40 times on You Tube, compared with more than 4,000 views for a video of a Pomeranian dog that blows bubbles from its nose. However, Mr. Clement said that could change if people start producing spoofs of the ad, a common phenomenon.
"The best thing that can happen is that people are aware of it, make fun of it on You Tube and go back to the original to see what they?re making fun of."
He spent two hours last week taping his own podcasts, computer files that are downloaded to MP3 players. The first Health Canada ones should be available on its Web site soon.
The Minister said he gets most of his music now from legal downloading sites on the Web, and regularly zaps episodes of televison's Daily Show with Jon Stewart to his prized video iPod.
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