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COLUMNISTS
TODAY'S STORIES
29.11.2007
Attack of the Nanny State

I know, I know. What could be more boring than a public service announcement from Ontario's Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, right?

Wrong: 


 

You can watch more PSAs intended to scare careless workers straight by clicking on the images at the bottom of the youtube after it's played. Or, like me, you can steer clear of Canada altogether. Too dangerous, man.

--Christopher Orr

Posted: Thursday, November 29, 2007 3:50 PM with 12 comment(s)

Comments

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medan said:

Wow...

The one where the woman falls from the ladder is deeply disturbing.  Definetly R-rated bizzare stuff.

If it is supposed to be comical, I don't know who would find these funny.

November 29, 2007 4:27 PM

boneill said:

Jesus...

November 29, 2007 4:32 PM

Rhubarbs said:

I don't think it's meant to be comical. I think it's meant to scare the bejezus out of you.

And as far as scaring the bejezus out of the audience, any of these spots is easily a better horror movie than, say, any of the "Final Destination" movies. These ads are to a feature-length horror movie as a Hemmingway short story is to a Dan Brown novel.

November 29, 2007 5:22 PM

adaglas said:

If you think that's hardcore, you should see what Manitoba does to absent-minded office clerks at the paper shredder.

November 29, 2007 5:26 PM

stgla said:

As someone who has been in a deep fryer accident myself, this was totally f'ing traumatizing.  Thanks a lot.

November 29, 2007 6:21 PM

drdannyu said:

These play on public television?

November 29, 2007 6:39 PM

blackton said:

when my cousin was eleven he played smoke signals with a pot of boiling water, spilled all over his lap.

I gotta tell you one thing though, Canada got nothing on China, the whole country is a daily catastrophe that recurs daily. I really have no idea how their got to be so many people there considering their workplace safety rules (ie. none)

November 29, 2007 8:11 PM

nancyirving said:

Please update this post with a warning.  I wish I had not seen this, and I certainly would not want any kid to see it.

November 30, 2007 4:13 AM

guyminuslife said:

This commercial would have been exactly the same if it had aired in the US, except that it would somehow be about marijuana.

Still...did they hire friggin' Eli Roth?

November 30, 2007 6:47 AM

aleon said:

I think it's an excellent public service announcement, and it works precisely because you're not expecting it to be so dramatic. If it makes one person be more careful and avoid an accident as a result, I say it's well worth it. So, kudos. --And no, I don't think a warning should be posted --that would defeat the purpose of the ad.

November 30, 2007 9:58 AM

jojoseph said:

This seems a little reminiscent of the recent OSHA campaign to educate people about "worker clumsiness" in lieu of enforcing workplace regulations....

November 30, 2007 12:19 PM

quinns said:

Canada's been telling it like it is on safety issues for a long time.  During 1973 I was attending a college near the border and one of our television stations was from Canada.  They were pushing seat belts at that time and public service spots talked about the the foolishness of not buckling up.  One point made was that if you are thrown from the vehicle (which some folks argued was somehow "better"), you will be traveling at that same speed where ever you land.  While the voice over described this the image was a watermelon sailing through the air in slow motion, until it hit a telephone pole and split in half, flying in in different directions, and another hitting the road at a low angle and pretty much disintegrating.  Very effective.

December 2, 2007 11:54 AM