Several cities agreed to run modified versions of this ad, which features an impaled construction worker in a puddle of blood.
Full colour, no modification -- runs in Ottawa.
Black and white with no blood -- runs in Oshawa, Ajax, Whitby, Clarington, St. Catharines, Welland, Niagara Falls, Kitchener, Cambridge, Waterloo, Brantford, Guelph.
Black and white with warning box -- runs in Mississauga, Markham, Oakville, Pickering, Newmarket, Richmond Hill.
Black and white, no modification -- runs in London, Toronto.There's also a television ad that shows a young woman slipping in a restaurant kitchen and scalding her face with hot oil. Graphic? For sure. Over the top? Not at all. It's a very effective ad showing the real dangers that occur. I've witnessed this type of injury in a place I once worked, work place safety can't be over stressed.
Some people will be offended by the ads in the bus shelters and television. Some will be angry that small children might see the disturbing image. But is it worse than small children seeing overtly sexual clothing ads in bus shelters? Or imitating the sexually suggestive moves and lyrics found in videos. If a WSIB ad makes a worker more aware of the dangers around them, doesn't that out weight all other concerns?
Certainly, the "Top Chef" ad is graphic and disturbing. But it's no more graphic than scenes of violent death we see on prime-time television or in movie theatres. In an age when kids have become immune to images of blood, gory body parts and dead bodies, maybe the graphic nature of the WSIB campaign is what it takes to shake us up, to make us take notice and really think about the safety of our workplaces.
There's no doubt we need employers -- from company presidents to shop-floor supervisors -- to take notice and ensure proper and safe training. Again I've seen some questionable practices. But workers also need to know and understand their rights and responsibilities; they need to ask questions if they don't know.
Later,
Kenaz
