Monday, 11 March 2013

11.3.13 "This is a [hilarious!] public service announcement"


In the UK, the tube has photos of ‘normal’ people showing poor tube etiquette – use the whole length of the platform. In Paris, the metro has a mildly disturbing rabbit-cum-hare doing daft things – don’t put your hands in the doors, or you risk a severe pinch.
In HK, they have this incredible big yellow smiley-faced fellow with stick feet and arms. I find him pretty comical as, like most advertising here, he is over the top, brightly coloured and relentlessly cheerful. In most of his ads, the message is clear – give your seat up for the elderly; don’t jump into closing doors. However, where he really wins my heart and makes me laugh out loud in public is the couple of ads that are hard to understand what he wants you to do…like this one.
What on earth is this about?
Children on the metro are great! Small children should be made to carry bags the size of their torso and be ecstatic about it! Stranger danger be damned, unaccompanied children should befriend creepy pacman-like figures! Honestly, just writing this I am chortling out loud…what is being communicated here?!
It turns out the answer is disappointing. The child is pushing unhappy-looking sandwiches back into his bag and the yellow chap is pleased because you are not meant to eat on the MTR (should we have this on the London tube – no more bleary-faced semi-sozzled people munching smelly McDonalds? You know who you are...).
Expect this guy and other public announcements to feature again.

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