Global warming ad makes a stark point

A new TV campaign by the Advertising Council and an environmental group uses stark imagery of a child about to be run over by a train to drive home its point on global warming.

“The new global warming campaign marks a watershed moment in the effort to stir the public’s consciousness about global warming,” the nonprofit Council and partner Environmental Defense said in a statement Thursday announcing the campaign.

The train ad starts with an adult standing on tracks and asking why he should worry about a problem that he might not live to see. He then moves away, revealing a girl also standing on the tracks as the train comes barreling down.

The ad is one of several public service TV and radio announcements unveiled by the partners.

“Global warming has reached the point where it threatens the world we leave our children and grandchildren,” Fred Krupp, head of Environmental Defense, said in the statement. “This campaign is a wake up call about the urgency of the problem.”

Described as “compelling” by the sponsors, the ads were designed pro bono by New York ad firm Ogilvy and Mather.

The Ad Council noted that it has had widespread impact with several previous public service campaigns, among them Smokey Bear, the Crash Test Dummies, Iron Eyes Cody (the “Crying Indian”) and “Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk”.

Many scientists believe humans are significantly contributing to warmer temperatures around the globe by burning fossil fuels, which release greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide.

Most industrial countries have agreed to mandatory curbs on emissions of those gases, but the Bush administration has refused to go along, saying that would hurt the U.S. economy and complaining that developing nations like China and India are not required to make mandatory cuts.

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