Imagine a water bottle that dreams of becoming a park bench overlooking a gorgeous vista, a soup can that wants to breeze by as a bicycle, or a shampoo bottle that longs to be a superhero and turn into something new. These are some of the many destinies that could be fulfilled if more Americans took the time to recycle.
Keep America Beautiful and the Ad Council are proud to partner with ISRI and other recycling industry leaders to present the award-winning “I Want To Be Recycled” public service campaign, which aims to inspire the nearly two in three Americans* who do not recycle regularly to make recycling a daily habit.
This first-of-its-kind national recycling campaign is designed to motivate individuals to recycle every day. The campaign artfully shows the viewer that he or she can give new life to recyclable materials, like plastic bottles, by choosing to recycle. Informed by research and focus group findings, the Public Service Announcements (PSAs) and online resources are truly activating viewers on an emotional level.
Thanks to the support of ISRI, other trade associations and company sponsors, the campaign has created four television commercials, three outdoor billboard ads, and radio advertising. Since launching 18 months ago, the campaign has garnered more than $68 million in donated ad value. To put that into perspective, very few major consumer product companies spend as much on advertising over a similar timeframe to raise awareness about their brands. Simply put: “I Want To Be Recycled” is one of the biggest, if not the biggest consumer awareness effort, to raise the profile of recycling on a national level.
Please join Keep America Beautiful and ISRI in sharing the “I Want To Be Recycled” campaign with your customers, friends, neighbors, and colleagues:
- Post the newest ads to your Facebook page, tweet them to your network, and link them on your organization’s website (Smile and Superhero).
- Give a ring to the PSA director at your favorite local newspaper, TV, or radio station and make it known that these ads are available and should be prioritized.
- Join the Keep America Beautiful recycling conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #berecycled and like Keep America Beautiful on Facebook.
*38% or respondents to KAB and Ad Council survey, prior to campaign launch, said they were “avid recyclers”, recycling as much as possible and willing to go out of their way to do so.
Brenda Pulley is senior vice president, recycling for Keep America Beautiful.