Sunday, April 28, 2024

Why an old commercial for a house hippo still fascinates Canadians today

house hippo

In a world where fake news and misinformation are rampant, the House Hippo’s message is more important than ever. The House Hippo may have been a fictional creature, but its impact on Canadian culture and the advertising industry is very real. The original 1999 commercial was designed to teach children about fake news (because, much to everyone's chagrin, house hippos aren't actually a thing), but the adorable little pet has since taken on a life of its own. The House Hippo may have only appeared in a few commercials, but its impact on Canadian culture and the advertising industry is still felt today. The House Hippo set a new standard for responsible advertising to children, and it inspired other organizations to create similar campaigns.

What’s a Canadian House Hippo?

It is a priority for CBC to create products that are accessible to all in Canada including people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive challenges. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. So those who are California dreamin’ might land in this sunny, star-studded city for a fun place to settle down. Keep yourself and your belongings protected — contact Hippo for a home insurance quote today. People like to live green in the Golden State, as evidenced by the fact that Los Angeles is the number one market for solar panels in the United States.

Those tiny hippos in your house? They’re back to teach us about ‘fake news’

Those who choose to partake in this home upgrade are doing more than just helping the environment; they’re saving themselves money! Solar panels and other home upgrades like smart home devices can help lower your home insurance premium. You should also look into crime rates, weather patterns and home value in your neighborhood, as all of these things could impact your premium and the supplemental insurance you choose to buy. Los Angelenos may also opt for additional insurance riders that aren’t typically included in a standard policy. Because of semi-frequent earthquakes and wildfires in cities throughout California, earthquake and fire riders could be a good idea.

MediaSmarts Blogger - Lynn Jatania

The House Hippo also had a significant impact on the advertising industry. The commercials were praised for their creativity and effectiveness, and they won numerous awards, including a Gold Lion at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The House Hippo set a new standard for responsible advertising to children and inspired other organizations to create similar campaigns.

Do you believe it’s real?

Hippo puts “temporary” pause on writing home insurance program - Re-Insurance.com

Hippo puts “temporary” pause on writing home insurance program.

Posted: Tue, 15 Aug 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

"The hippo was just the funniest animal we could think of, and yet somehow the most plausible. A giraffe or moose just seemed too fake somehow." Well, it was a mash-up of Canadian wildlife commercials and a lightning bolt moment, according to Siobhan Dempsey, one of the writers behind the original PSA. Two teams, one from New Jersey, and one from Montreal met on a beautiful spring day in New Jersey in 1946 to open their baseball season...

Most recently, the house hippo was revived in a 2019 ad by Ontari0-based MediaSmarts that warns modern audiences about the dangers of misinformation on the internet. It's inspired t-shirts, the name of a band and even an urban dictionary page. With Canadians seeing the House Hippo as a nostalgic piece of Canadiana, the choice was made to use the hippo again to remind Canadians to question what they see not only on television but the internet. A new commercial was also created, mimicking the format and tone of the previous commercial from 1999. In May of 1999, a commercial would debut on Canadian television that against all odds, would become part of the Canadian consciousness. The commercial, which was produced by Concerned Children’s Advertisers, would bring introduce the idea of a House Hippo to Canadian culture.

house hippo

They’re cute, they steal your socks, they ride your robot vacuum… and they’re back to help us remember to not believe everything we see online. The house hippo who stole our hearts in a public service announcement in 1999 has come back to Break the Fake in a new campaign from MediaSmarts, Canada’s centre for digital and media literacy. The House Hippo also became a beloved icon of Canadian culture, with many people still fondly remembering the commercials today. The House Hippo has been referenced in popular culture, and it has even inspired fan art and merchandise. The House Hippo is a reminder of a simpler time in Canadian culture and a symbol of the power of creativity and responsible advertising. The House Hippo quickly became a beloved icon of Canadian culture, with many people still fondly remembering the commercials today.

house hippo

For those of you who have seen or used the term “house hippo” online, do you know what you’re referencing?

It describes the House Hippo as being found across Canada and in parts of the eastern United States, while showing the creature in a typical Canadian home. "There's misinformation, false information, accusations of fake news that may be true or not true," said Hill. "And so we think the house hippo is more important than ever, and that's why we brought them back." To create the House Hippo, the advertising team filmed real hippos and then used forced perspective to make them appear tiny enough to fit in a Canadian home. The team also used animatronics and puppetry to create the close-up shots of the House Hippo. The result was a convincing and adorable creature that captured the hearts of Canadians.

And like 1/5th of Canadians, I wasn’t born here, and missed a lot of the traditional Canadian upbringing. "It's playful and it's cute and magical. And I think it speaks to the children in all of us." But as technology has evolved since 1999, so too has the house hippo. "We found pockets of communities all over the country — from all kinds of different age groups as well, and different backgrounds — who were still reminiscing about the hippo," said MediaSmarts executive director Kathryn Ann Hill. The house hippo came back in 2019, thanks to MediaSmarts, and even recently showed up as the star of an April Fools’ Day joke along with the Canadian Museum of Nature.

Reds catching drill with toy hippo - MLB.com

Reds catching drill with toy hippo.

Posted: Mon, 19 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

"There's something about them that's cute. It's the idea of taking this giant, enormous creature and turning it into something really cute and small." "I think Malcolm [Roberts] said, 'How about a tiny animal that lives in your house?'" Dempsey told Freshdaily. "He had a young son at the time and thought it might be kind of magical."

Having open conversations with our kids about what everyone is seeing online can help, but it’s not just our children who are being duped. We need to be mindful of what we consume and the sources of our information. And while the house hippo is a good reminder not to trust everything we see, we also need to learn – and to teach our kids – how to identify information that is true and sources that can be trusted. Or at least, that’s what we were told years ago as part of a Concerned Children's Advertisers campaign to help kids think critically about what they were seeing on TV. The House Hippo commercials first aired in 1999 and were an instant hit. The commercials featured footage of real hippos, which were then edited to make them appear tiny enough to fit in a Canadian home.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Galaxy to host Inter Miami and Messi in February, face off against LAFC in 'El Tráfico' summer match ABC7 Los Angeles

Table Of Content Lionel Messi and Inter Miami put on a show in stunning victory over LAFC These Latina queens will be on Season 9 of ‘RuPaul...