The vinyl solution

Now this is fun. Top-notch design studio Freerange Graphics have produced another of their really quite cool online animations, and anyone who's seen cyberpunk animal welfare skit The Meatrix or organic sci-fi rip-off Grocery Store Wars will know they can put a groovy spin on ethically-minded issues. But for their latest viral masterpiece they've shifted away from foodstuffs and onto toxic chemicals in the form Sam Suds and the Case of the Poison Plastic, a pop at toxic PVC that has more than a touch of The Big Sleep about it.

What impresses me is that, even among the jokes and spoofs, they manage to squeeze in those key bits of info that will stick in people's minds. It's so easy to fall into the trap of being overly earnest and preachy, but then that's often what the news media expect and so that's what they're given. To inform while entertaining though, that's an art and arguably a more successful strategy although we'd need deep pockets to be able to afford this kind of razzamatazz for every campaign we launch. Go and watch the animation, then keep your fingers crossed for a positive outcome in the current REACH legislation being debated in the European Parliament.