Solid Waste > Litter Home > Litter Campaign > Media

Media

• Creative Rationale
• Television & Radio
• Partnerships

Creative Rationale

Reaching litterers - a typically young, entrenched group of people who know that they are engaged in socially unacceptable or illegal behavior - is tricky. Formative focus groups with intentional litterers confirmed that littering is a selfish and sometimes rebellious act. Environmentally positive messages, pleas that attempted to instill guilt and messages that bolster a sense of civic pride did not resonate with this group. In fact, these messages turned off this group and risked hitting their rebellious hot buttons, encouraging them to litter more.

Research continues to show that litter is reduced when motorists are aware of the significant fines for littering and believe they may be reported, caught and/or fined.  Research also shows that the majority of people in Washington will report litterers given the opportunity.

As the campaign re-launches in Spring of 2007, the primary messages build on the "litter and it will hurt" enforcement themes established in 2002.  The new materials focus on the fines for littering potentially dangerous materials (lit cigarettes, glass bottles, human waste, etc.).  They also make an appeal for people to stop engaging in potentially dangerous litter behavior such as failure to secure a load.  For the first time since 2002, the campaign also actively encourages the non-littering public to be a part of the solution by calling the litter hotline (866-LITTER-1) to report litterers.

Television & Radio

The 2007 litter campaign commercials are designed to speak to both litterers and non-litterers.  Two of the most common littering behaviors, tossing cigarette butts and driving with unsecured loads, are featured in the television spots.  In the spots, the potential litterers do not realize that their actions are wrong at first, but after being scrutinized by those around them, they do the right thing.  The spots drive the message home that people are watching, and that litterers can get reported, caught and fined.

The commercials are also designed to encourage the non-littering public to call the litter hotline when they see someone litter.  By showing a diverse group of individuals watching the potential litterer, the spots attempt to legitimize calling the litter hotline.

Instead of producing radio spots in 2007, the campaign will incorporate "live" read messages on radio stations around the state.

Click image to view video clip (Windows Media Format)

	English
	English Spanish

For information on past television and radio spots:

Media Files 2004
Media Files 2002

Partnerships

The Litter Prevention Campaign has limited funding to produce and run advertising to achieve its awareness goals.  Extending the campaign to a wide audience through partnerships is critical to the success of our efforts.  To this end, the Washington State Department of Ecology has formed a marketing partnership with two major Washington broadcast media partners: Belo Marketing Solutions/ Northwest and FoxSports Northwest.

In addition to our media partners, Ecology has reached out to several businesses and non-profit organizations most notably, the Mariners, McDonald's, Washington Forest Protection Association, Pacific Science Center and the SuperMall.  Beyond sponsoring placement of advertising messages, partners are asked to distribute campaign collateral (litter bags, posters, etc.) plus post "retail level" signage, and point-of-sale materials.  The goal is to secure significant exposure for the campaign in materials that live beyond the media campaign.

And the campaign would not be a success if not for the tremendous support we receive from our state agency and local government partners, many of whom implement campaign elements at the local level.

back to top