Marketing and all things related

I saw the Human element add today on ESPN during the Wimbledon coverage. I was very impressed. I believe that we should always focus on the most important element, "Hu".

Great Job Guys,

Ainsley A. Gibson

Absolutely fantastic! The HU is the underlying element of all life. I hear it in the sound of the wind in the pine trees. HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

Here's the ad video. Truly masterful! http://news.dow.com/dowtv/

I am so impressed with the Dow commercial it actually captures the essence of the HU element in influencing the natural elements to meet the challenges of the future.

Pretty pictures? Yes. Connection with who Dow is? No. Most people who will get this (ie have heard of Dow), know of Dow from financial markets or due to thier misdeeds. If it is meant to convince the latter group that they have stopped poisoning people and are now doing good things for the world, it is a total flop. A sculptor at work versus silicone breast implants? Neurons firing versus child burned by napalm? Book pages turning versus 22,000 dead in Bhopal? (so they pick a South Asian child for the print ads) what grabs you more?

What is most elemental, inspiring and beautiful is the organizing of those who survived Agent Orange, severe asthma and cancer, and are working together to regain thier right to a healthy environment, thier right to be born free of toxic chemicals. Thier basic elemental human rights. Check out www.thetruthaboutdow.org or www.studentsforbhopal.org for that beautiful story.

Yeah the commercial was interesting, but what on earth does "7E+09" mean? Can anyone help answer that?

My request too. What is the meaning of the "7E+09" and also the "8" of the HU element?

Maybe the population 7,000,003,157 and we are moving to 8 billion.

But the census has World Population

You are right about the world population. I saw a graphic that described and when I find it I will post it.

The music is New harmon Waltz by Susan Voelz, 13 Ribs CD

Here is what the letters/numbers represent:
Hu is the abbreviation for "Human" as an element. illustrating how people are the missing component on the Periodic Table of Elements

7E+09 is the rounded up world population (7 billion) represented as an atomic weight

The number in the righthand corner is a random element number to enhance the Periodic Table appearance.

I hate this ad so much I will make a effort not to purchase products from Dow. I hope no elementary school kids accidentally catch the ad and think that people are a component on the Periodic Table of Elements. ...and that music is a rip off from the background music from a Motel 6, Tom Bonnett (sp?) ad. If Dow does so much for humans why not show us some of those products instead of this trash?

I love this commercial. I love the 'human' aspect and it's composite portrayal; and I love the music; and no. . .not a 'Motel 6 ad' (!) but more in the genre of the both heart-breaking and soul-soothing Civil War era music as played in Ken Burns' Civil War series. Or so it reminds me. All together, a great message.

It's an interesting concept. I like the identification as Human as an element a great deal.

However, I agree that there's not much connection or association, so I'm not sure what they're trying to convey.

Does anyone know who the voiceover voice is?

it is disgusting how all of you have appreciated Dirty Dow's lame attempt to cleanup their act. Dow's Hu campaign, no matter how appealing, can never mask the stench and legacy of death and destruction that is Dow.

And now in a latest attempt to fool the world under the Hu element Dirty Dow along with the UN wants to provide clean drinking water to the waterless around the world..

well thats just so heart warming when the company is even not competent enough to provide clean water to the residents of Bhopal India.

Dow would even sell the dynamite meant for blowing its facility if it could make a buck of it.

and all of you are sick in your mind.

what is the name of the music?

The music is New harmony Waltz by Susan Voelz, 13 Ribs CD

I LOVE the music - I'm mezmorized by the commercial because I can't turn away from the music!

The New Harmony Waltz doesn't appear on Voelz's 13 Ribs CD (according to Amazon). Any other/better lead on the New Harmony Waltz?

Thanks very much.

Music Enthusiast

It is the new harmony walz by Susan Voelz. And it is on the 13 ribs album that "rrh" specified.

The number "8" in the equation isn't as random as you think. "8" is the symbol for infinity.

I think this a very good commercial, from an ad standpoint. The music brings it the same attention that Mad World did for Gears of War. I'd also like to point some things out. Agent Orange was used by the U.S. Military intentionally. If anyone should get the blame, it is them. McNamara still doesn't think that anyone should be blamed, because it was a time of war. I personally disagree, but I do not think that was really about Dow. The military contracts alot of companies to make their WMDs, yet I don't see anyone blasting Boeing. Not to undermine the horrors of Bhopal, of course.

Re "What does the 8 mean?):

In the periodic table, by convention, numbers on top represent the atomic number (i.e. number of protons), and numbers on the bottom represent the atomic weight.

In the Dow commercial, since the number 8 is on top, the number 8 represents the atomic number.

In the Periodic Table, atomic number 8 is oxygen. Why oxygen? Because oxygen is the most abundant element in the human body. About two thirds of the human body is oxygen.

well, i loved the commercial and i love the music... the voice over is dont by one of the top people at dow(got to ask.com and type in- dow chemicals human element commercial)

love the music for the DowChemicalcommercial- Human element - The New Harmony Waltz by Susan Voelz - where can you get this CD - Anne

who is the narrator?

HU=Hu Jintao?

I thought Dow was in the chemical business. Stick to your knitting.

The voiceover is done by the SVP, Executive Group Creative Director at the ad agency (who also wrote the copy).

Does anybody know who Directed the SPot? Wonderful work.

Is the narrator for "The Human Element" Ken Burns? Sure sounds like him.

which agencies did this Human campaing for Dow?

Actually, oxygen does not make up 2/3 of the body, if measured by percentage of the total number of atoms. If approximately 60% of the body is water, and there are two hydrogen atoms for every oxygen atom in a water molecule, then about 40% of the atoms in the body are hydrogen, making it impossible for 66% of them to be oxygen.

I think it's far more likely that the 8 was chosen as a symbol for the importance of oxygen to human life.

Its a beautiful commercial, and it makes me cry every time it comes on.

To the poster above, I don't appreciate your objection. Obviosuly percentage of total atoms is not the measure they used. More sensible would be to measure the weight or the volume of the oxygen, and by either of these measures the 66% oxygen claim is valid.

does anyone know the location of the water bits with the 2 swimmers and the one coming out of water?

What a wonderful commercial!
My wife and I were so positively impressed by the totality of this commercial. I , particularly, as a violinist would like to know where I can get the sheet music or the name and Composer for this music. The message and the music blended so very well and we enjoyed this commercial!

Appreciatively, Alan and Pat Whitelock
950 S Garcia st, Port Isabel Texas 78578

I came here looking for the names of the writers and whomever did the voiceover (both very much in the spirit of Ken Burns). Thanks to Anonymous who posted a pointer.

These two links should answer some other questions.

Enjoy.

http://www.ragingartists.com/artists-in-advertising/2006/06/tight_dow_the_human_element.html

http://www.tightfilms.com/

More stuff, answers many questions:

https://my.hamilton.edu/news/more_news/display.cfm?ID=12373

Associate Professor of Music Lydia Hamessley presented a paper titled “Commercial Folk: Dow Chemical’s ‘Human Element’ Campaign” at the Music & The Moving Image conference, held at New York University on May 18-20. Her paper examined Dow Chemical’s $20 million advertising campaign, “The Human Element” (2006).

Its most visible presence was a 90-second television ad that featured lush images of the natural world and “real people” of all ages and races from around the world as well as a voice-over that mixed spiritual profundity and chemistry made mystical: “life is elemental,” “we see all things connected.” However, the music used in the advertisement, “The New Harmony Waltz” by Susan Voelz, is what creates this commercial’s powerful, almost mesmerizing, effect. This leisurely-paced, folk-like fiddle tune transports the listener to an idealized rural world of a simpler time.

This tune also evokes a more well-known fiddle tune, “Ashokan Farewell,” by Jay Ungar, which was featured so prominently in Ken Burns’ PBS series The Civil War. Dow states that “The Human Element” campaign “reintroduces the company and announces its vision of addressing some of the most pressing economic, social and environmental concerns facing the global community….” The paper examines how this commercial, particularly its musical score, works in Dow’s attempt to reconstruct a public image that for many is unredeemable.

I want the sheet music to New Harmony Waltz that is the background music in your HU commercial. Where can I get
it?

Thanks for any information you can give me.
Rita Peters

What I don't understand is how any respectable marketing company could permit themselves to create an ad like this for a company that has committed such atrocities.

Surely they would have done about 5 minutes of research on DOW before they decided to take them on as a client.

It's just sickening.

Ok. So I've been bombarded with the Dow "Hu" commercials and this is what I remember: Blah, blah, blah, elemental, blah, blah, blah, human, blah, blah, blah.....

I have only one question: HUH?

After numerous rapt viewings I'm still trying to figure out what the commericials hope to convey, what they want me to buy, their purpose.

This series of commercials reminds me of IBM's disastrous commercials hyping OS2. Oh, you don't remember OS2? See? Most people don't and there's a good reason. It goes something like this: Blah, blah, blah.....

There is a very high probability that this commercial was written by a copy writer that failed high school math and science, especially chemistry.

Uidrigin-Uranium Hu.

HU isn't the only weerd element.. kripton!!! # 36

Does any one know the other music that is played in the other Human Element commercial? It is not the New Harmony Waltz by Susan Voelz. It is a piano piece that is absolutely beautiful! I wish these commercials would make finding theme songs easier to locate!! Can anyone help?