A powerful PSA about pollution that stood the test of time.

And evidence of how my weird brain works.

One of the most powerful Public Service Announcements I’ve ever seen came out in the 1970s and tried to get the public to care about pollution, especially litter.

It’s the one where a Native American (or “Indian”, as we called them back then) dressed in buckskin and feathers rows his traditional, handmade canoe down a river.

At first it’s peaceful, majestic. But then he begins encountering garbage in the river. He paddles his canoe past discarded bags and newspapers and other trash.

He paddles across a harbor where docks and shipyards and other industrial behemoths can be seen, slightly out of focus in the background.

Eventually, he pulls the canoe up onto a beach choked with garbage. He then walks inland a short bit until he encounters a busy highway, littered with garbage alongside the road.

Then, a final punctuating insult and assault. Some laughing person drives by and casually tosses a bag of fast food garbage out the window without any apparent thought.

The disgusting bag lands at the man’s feet, bursting and splattering the refuse all around him.

He slowly turns towards the camera, revealing a single tear upon his ancient, wise, and unhappy face.

The entire ad has no dialogue, only music, until the very end, when a somber voice says, “Some people have a deep, abiding respect for the natural beauty that was once this country, and some people don’t. People start pollution. People can stop it.

Powerful stuff.

The ad was made by the Advertising Council (famous for those old Smokey the Bear commercials. “Only you can prevent forest fires!”) for a group called Keep America Beautiful.

Before the famous Crying Indian, Keep America Beautiful had used a young girl character called “Susan Spotless” who would admonish adults who littered. An example of her catch phrase: “Daddy, you forgot. Every litter bit hurts!”

But the Crying Indian commercial was much more powerful and made a much bigger impact on the zeitgeist. The ad won many awards, including two Clio Awards (the advertising industry’s top prize).

Television stations played the ad so much that their copies of the film would wear out and they had to get new ones.

And indeed, I think about that commercial off and on to this very day.

But because I’m such a weirdo, the ad maybe affected me a bit differently than most people.

When I saw the ad, I thought to myself:

If an actual Native American was transported forward in time from when that garb and canoe were common to the 1970s, he may indeed tear up a little at the sight of all that littered garbage.

But he would wail, shriek, gnash his teeth, pull his hair out, and scream at the heavens with snot-nosed rage and terror at the sight of the I-5 highway itself.

But again, I’m a weirdo. I think weird things.

Thanks for coming along on my weird journey!

Naturally,

Adam

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