Earth Choice launches first ad campaign to bring out environmental benefits
Natures Organics is launching the first advertising campaign for its 20 year-old cleaning brand Earth Choice.
The “Torture” camapaign, created by Clemenger Harvie Edge (CHE) Melbourne, will aim to highlight the environmental benefits of using the brand versus traditional cleaning products.
The ad carries the line “Stop torturing our aquatic life” and shows people using what appears to be a live duck, starfish and an octopus to clean their house.
Jason Ross, CHE executive creative director, said: “We wanted consumers to consider where their waste water goes after it leaves their home. Showing aquatic animals in the cleaning process being ‘tortured’ by standard cleaning products dramatised this point.”
The TVC goes to air on March 28.
Credits –
- Agency: CHE
- Executive Creative Director: Jason Ross
- Deputy Creative Director: Richard Ralphsmith
- Agency Producer: Roz Ruwhiu
- Clients: Justin Dowell, Maree Gauci, Leah Purcell
- Account Management: Meagan Bell
- Production: Otto Empire
- Director: Ben Saunders
- Producer: Jo de Fina
- Post Production: Fin Design
Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large.
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Would Mr Ross be kind enough to explain to the readers of Mumbrella what the scientific basis for this claim is? Especially as he clearly believes the Australian public dont want to know.
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it’s funny, torture was the last thing i took away from watching the ad
i thought it was saying that Nature’s Organics’ products were so enviromentally friendly the marine creatures volunteered to clean the house
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Sven i was confused at the start too. Thinking that the products were so good to animal life, you could put them directly in contact with the product haha. But the end result clarifies it.
I think its a pretty good ad, as its definately engaging and eyecatching.
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Except for the mawkish music, I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to laugh or what. The octopus actually looks like a pretty efficient floor mop.
I get the point…sea creatures are damaged by our usual detergents etc. Yes, thats bad. The question is whether this will motivate people to buy the product. There is a big gap between what people SAY they believe in terms of the environment and what they DO.
In terms of brand / product awareness….who? And in the low interest FMCG detergents category, when confronted by 100 choices on the shelves, isn’t that the name of the game? The brand I’m reminded of most by this ad is Toilet Duck. Seriously.
Finally…a 45 second TVC. We still make those?
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Gezza – get over yourself, there’s buckets of scientific evidence that shows that the main pollutants entering the marine environment near large metropolitan cities are carried through wastewater and stormwater. Even though wastewater is treated it still carries high levels of chemicals that continue to damage our marine life. For a start look up the Adelaide Coastal Waters Study and read some of the technical papers, then look at the recommendations in the final report.
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I think it’s a great start for them — not in-your-face, treehugging-gasmasksuited-extremistcampaigner-shock — it subtly reminds us where our water ends up and more importantly it’s different and memorable enough to remind us, when next we’re lurching zombie-like through the aisles at the supermarket.
as pointed out, it does reinterpret the whole ‘toilet duck’ concept — this could be a bonus to work on the success of their competitor — whilst underscoring where SCJohnsons’ products are lacking. albeit, Toilet Duck only kills for thirty days, and it does offer a refreshing ‘marine’ scent to make it more palatable to aquatic life.
the ad didn’t mention also the phosphates, that harm plant life as well — eg. kill your garden if you use a grey water / septic system — that may be a future campaign.
from the consumer POV: I’ve been using their products for as long as I can remember, without reading into the whole ‘earth’ issue, which tends to be clouded by ‘green’ marketing when you’re choosing a product.
I tend to think that any products that are easy on the nose / eyes / hands, not covered in poison information warnings, and don’t require using vat amounts of the stuff to get the job done, are the driving reason for my purchases — their products fit the bill for most cleaning jobs.
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@ Octo. Not sure why the need for hostility. But anyway, my point is that the claim of toturing sealife is not credible to the average mum/GB. I think the ad would be infinitely more effective if it mentioned a basis for the claim. Given recent publicity about climate change science being misrepresentd there is an especially strong reason to achive credibility for a product trying to leverage its brand from public interest in the environment.
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I knew nothing about this spot when I first watched it.
I got it. And I quite liked it.
But I do agree with Gezza.
Just a little substantiation would have really nailed it and forced us to take notice.
It feels a touch fluffy and generic without it.
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I have just seen the ad on TV.
Love it!
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Just saw this ad then and it is awful. I don’t like watching animals (yes even computer created ones) being tortured and I will definitely not be buying Earth’s Choice ever.
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I really enjoyed the ad; but I wonder if it’s a bit of preaching-to-the-converted?
I do buy my cleaning products based on their environmental impact (and my flatmate and I have even started using bicarb, vinegar and cloves for general cleaning ;)) so for me this ad really resonated.
Thoughts?
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i saw the ad today. it was definitely engaging and persuading. the most painful part to watch was the ray and the octopus being squished like that. i hope no animals were harmed. totally supporting earth choice!
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Where can I get one of those octopus mops?
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I can understand what you are trying to say in your ad…but to little kids its very distressing…”why are they hurting the hermit crab…” Did you happen to consider people who do have a conscience and do the right thing by the enviroment..
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@ AB : you’re reasoning there sounds a bit silly, you’re essentially saying the incense to your morals has persuaded you to betray your morals? you won’t buy environmentally friendly products because the ads remind you why you want to be enviornmentally friendly?
When you see graphic ads depicting smoking problems, does that persuade you to take up smoking out of spite?
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I’ve just forced my dog to drink Earth Choice detergent by pinning it down and pinching its nose. It started off convulsing and foaming at the mouth, now its wagging its tail and is pestering me to give it more. What do they put in this stuff?
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Extremely distressing to young children who believe real animals are used in this ad – because they look so real and their movements are lifelike. My young son was hysterical thinking the animals were being harmed. Preaching to the converted really – those of us who care about the environment and animals aren’t using the bad stuff anyway and are very conscious of what we put down our drains. But I know I won’t be supporting this brand any more because I don’t want to see any more of these ugly ads…………….
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I was horrified when i first saw this ad, as most little boys have hermit crabs; I am mortified at the thought of your ad giving them the idea to pore cleaning products into their shells. I think you could have approached the ad campaign in a more humane way, a big thumbs down to the marketing department!
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based on many of the comments here, Gezza’s point is really valid — CHE could add a text overlay to the advert to underscore the value of choosing eco-friendly products — otherwise many viewers may react negatively.
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I agree with everyone here that dislike this ad It makes me sick when it comes on, thank goodness for remote controls.. I thought this was for advertising earth choice.. So your telling me that its earth’s choice for us to use sea creatures when cleaning thats what is telling me. There’s not many bright sparks out there in that department, Big thumbs down for me too.
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Having worked for Natures Organics i know exactly where this add is going..
Every year most Australian poison our waterways and land and them selves with
BIG BRAND PRODUCTS full of harmfull poisons and chemicals and dont even know it .
As long as it cleans their clothes/house and has a flashy ad with a celebrity its ok to use..
You have no idea what most washing powders and cleaning items are doing to your body
So wake up And DO USE EARTH CHOICE as its one of the few AUSSIE OWNED companies left and they look after the planet
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hmmm personally I liked the ad when I first realised what it was about because for the first few seconds of the ad I had no idea.
After much thought about the topic, after reading all the responses in a number of different blogs, I am now trying to find the link with the physical torture of the “cleaning process” as opposed to the torture from the chemicals which is a posioning action and not a physical action as such. I suppose this was the easiest way of getting the message across.
A more interesting topic to debate would be;
If you don’t actually use the sea animals to do the actual cleaning, how can you convey the poisonous actions of the chemicals. If you use Earth Choices you are still having to physically scrub, wipe, clean etc. just the chemicals or constituents used are less environmentally impactive.
I think CHE did well with a difficult subject and managed to get the idea across even though it was quite brutal.
Cheers
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I think the ad is brilliant. Gets the point across, makes you think about what cleaning products you’re using and I will continue to use Earth Choice. I’m sure the idea wasn’t to scare or horrify children, just educate them.
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do any of the people selling cleaning products have to substantiate their claims that they ‘clean so well’ or ‘are better than another’. I would say that it is not rocket science to know that all chemicals we use, cleaning products, car products, facial products, etc are all more or less bad for the environment and actually often OURSELVES and yet….we continue to use them.
Today you can buy green cleaning products, recycled paper products, biodegradable bags and cleaning sponges….but it still seems more important to many to have a cute picture on it.
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Check out
Whel.com.au,
They educate you on all the harmful chemicals in household goods. and refer you to top quality products to change your lifestyle & be safer
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Check out
Whel.com.au
They educate you in the dangers of household chemicals and refer you to products that are high quality products that make a difference.
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sure — thanks for the sales promo, John Clifford Smith — hard to see how you’ve achieved sales to 700,000 customers when you registered both your AU and UK domains only a week ago, and have just over 3,000 visitors so far…
I agree with your MLM strategy, though — your Melaluca.com Body Wash at only ~$90/litre [+S&H] would be a brilliant way to ensure we all use less!!
back in the real world, though — most people could never afford those kind of prices, clearly this is a scheme for the filthy rich to save the earth’s oceans (never minding the environmental drawbacks of importing everything from the US, after manufacturing elsewhere).
our local brand Natures Organics is a clear winner as I see it.
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In response to – magic monkey who posted on 10 Apr 10 @ 2:45 am.
I would appreciate if Magic Monkey got his facts right before posting negative comments about our website.
Firstly the 700,000 customers refer to Melaleuca, as we are independent agents for them, as are thousands of other people.
Secondly, We are most definitely not an MLM, when you took the time to register on our site if you had read the page “a different kind of company”, you would have understood a little more about how the company operates. Typical MLM companies require stock purchase, sales and invoicing, etc… we don’t, they are high risk, we are risk free due to our 100% product guarantee.
Funny also how you picked only one product that really does not represent our product range of over 300 products. Our landry products for example are on average 10% cheaper than leading brands, our vitamins and minerals are upto 50% cheaper and have a much higher absorbtion rate of vital minerals, etc…..
I aso struggle to see where your prices come from, for example the body wash retails far less than that and our preferred customers obtain it at around 30% off retail. Again if you had taken the time to reseach properly you would have got your facts straight. On average our prices work out around 20% cheaper per month for most families, based on price comparisons with well know supermarket chains in both the UK and Australia.
Anyone who wishes to disagree that we are cheaper can email us via our website with their typical monthly purchases and we shall give them a free comparison on costs. (obviously we won’t always be cheaper than all brands, but it’s about a lifestlye change to remove chemicals and toxins, not a price war)
One of the main advantages is because the products are highly concentrated they also use far less packaging materials than most companies, (including green companies)
Yes we have only just launched the website a few weeks ago, and we did this after personally using the products ourselves, again our “about us” page explains how our daughters eczema condition was improved due to the creams we used, which was one of the deciding factors on why we set our business up.
If you also read the website , we operate by people coming to us and requesting an interest. Mentioning our website on this forum was simply a way to make people aware. This is shown by giving the general public access to all the information about toxins and chemicals without restriction. It is only when they want to know specifically about the products that they register.
All other websites particularly MLM’s force products down your throat from the beginning.
If we educate people about the dangers without getting their custom, then we have still succeeded in our goal. Obviously if they want to register and find out more then we are more than happy to help.
Going back to the purpose of being green may I commend the makers of the advert for a great awareness campaign.
Regards
Cliff (John Clifford) Smith
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thanks Cliff, for pointing that out.
as this has been somewhat off-topic since your first posting I felt an exhaustive comparison was not appropriate. actually I did a number of comparisons with your products (laundry/kitchen detergent/all-purpose cleaner/bathroom spray/etc) which are all 2-10 times the price of comparable supermarket products, albeit they are ‘concentrated’, but there are many, economical, genuine, concentrated products available (outside the Unilever & Co. brands).
I’m not alone in having heard the claims “different kind of company”/ “cheaper for most people most of the time” / “removes evil things”, and so on from a lfietime of these type of companies.
No two MLMs are exactly alike, and MLMs aren’t strictly good or bad. They all have merits and downfalls. But to say that Melaleuca isn’t a “traditional” MLM (like Amway) and therefore isn’t MLM is like saying that Hungry Jacks isn’t exactly like McDonald’s, therefore it isn’t fast food.
“Revenue sharing”, “Customer direct”, blah, blah, blah. It’s still Multi Level Marketing (or Network Marketing).
Not all MLMs require stockpiling product that you can’t sell (although, if you have to purchase 35 or 75 points worth of product every month, you may experience your own stockpile effect!) In fact, most MLMs in recent years have done away with personal distribution, in favor for online and catalog ordering.
Melalucca’s products may be great, but I refuse to be sold into MLM slavery.
source: http://www.mlm-thetruth.com/melaleuca.htm
click on the quick five-step-evaluation to see for yourself.
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Dear Magic monkey, I will not post after this because as you say it is off topic, but I disagree with your comments again.
With regards to MLM or not, we ask people to read the article on our site and make their own decision, I believe Melaleuca’s products are some of the best on the market, and are everyday products that people can afford. We find them cheaper, some may not, it depends on what you buy and what chemicals are in them. I know we are dloing everything we can to ensure our children are not at risk.
Buying a eco laundry detergent won’t change the world, and alone it won’t reduce the household dangers, its a lifestyle change. We want our children toxin free, and not guinepigs on untested, ungoverned chemicals used in everyday products.
People have a choice, if they want to make a difference they can. Even if people want to get products from local supermarkets, I would still urge them to read the free information on our site and then at least they can buy smarter from whereever they choose.
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great ad, perfectly targeted at the usual cleaning products purchaser (but not actually in our house) – my wife sits there watching it going ‘ah – poor starfish’. if it’s effectively backed up in store with positioning (haven’t been in store since), they will do really well.
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In response to AB…. do you watch the news or refuse to watch that too because its Un-computer animated people are being murdered, raped and killed…clearly the ad had it effect on you and maybe instead of being so ignorant and avoiding any responsibility, you should support a company that is actually trying to better our mistakes….this ad is not just trying to sell its product …its reminding us of the damage we do to our waters and sea life without even thinking..not only does it remind us of this but puts our “human” ways/ignorance in perspective ALOT! I will happily buy this product and continue too if it means I’m doing my very small part to clean up the mess and save the future of defenceless sea creatures that are paying for our mistakes who don’t have a voice or choice!
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The message is clear… using chemical products impact our waterways and we should consider environmentally conscious alternatives. Why shy away from this or pretend like it doesn’t happen?! The ad gets my vote!
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Congratulations on making a TV ad that draws the connection between consumer purchasing decisions in the supermarket aisles and the effect on the natural world. I would like to say that recently I over heard my wife and another woman discussing the benefits of Earth Choice brands and their comments that the cleaning results were as good as other cleaners containing nasty chemicals.
Our family now buys Earth Choice toilet cleaner, general cleaner, dishwashing cleaner, and dishwasher tablets. The results are great and we feel good about ourselves and our purchasing choices.
Your follow-on ad should depict typical people who have made the change and show their happiness.
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As soon as the ad started to play, I felt a weird feeling in stomach. I felt horrible, and instantly I understood what they were trying to say…
So sad to see marine life die off. The dumb thing is the GREAT BARRIER REEF and stuff is dying off and no-one is actually stopping cruises from going in the area. what’s wrong with people, i havent been to the great barrier reef because I would get a cruise to see to. I dont want to contribute to the destruction of the reef. When no-one will go on those cruises, they wont have them around, STOP and help the environment
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