Remembering To Care About The Earth

[*1] It was GatorWoman[*2] reminiscing about her meeting with the legendary "Iron Eyes" Cody [see Walking With The Alligators - Earth Day Memories, then and now~[*3] ] that got me thinking back to the mid-seventies and anti-pollution campaigns of days gone by.

From Wikipedia[*4] :

Cody was widely seen in his "crying chief" role in the "Keep America Beautiful" public service announcement (PSA) in the early 1970s. The environmental commercial showed Cody dressed as a Native American, shedding a tear after trash is thrown from the window of a car and it lands at his feet. The announcer, William Conrad, says: "People start pollution; people can stop it."

As memorable as that "Keep America Beautiful" spot was it was the United States Brewers Association's "Pitch In" campaign that I recall as being one of the most effective or rather affective anti-litter campaigns. It was that infectious "jingle" - written by Steve Karmen[*5]   that I recall as becoming a mid-seventies Brainworm.[*6]

[*7]
Seeing this video again takes me back to those days in May spent at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the days leading up to "The Greatest Spectacle In Racing" - The Indianapolis 500[*8] . In the height of the "Pitch In" campaign this song was played at the track with such absurd regularity that many in attendance fell prey to this anti-litter brainwashing and would join the collective hive-mind and sing along every time the PSA was broadcast. It was actually heartwarming to witness so many people joining their voices together in support of a cleaner planet. Even to this day, I cannot stand litter-bugs - coincidence? I think not...

[tag:PSA retro musing living historic music]