Gelo's Ad Tracker Lets Kids Pester Parents to Avoid Plastics

Single-use plastics have survived and thrived—while posing an increasing threat to global ecoysystems—for a simple reason: they're convenient. Buying toothpaste that doesn't come from a tube? Or water-soluble pods for your cleaning liquids? Those options are rarely as prominent as the famously frictionless ecommerce tactics used by major consumer brands to secure your purchases quickly and easily. Now one environmentally minded challenger brand, soap maker Gelo, is co-opting one of the major tools of its biggest competitors—and recruiting kids to deploy it. The Parent Track is a tool created by Gelo and agency Mischief to use ad tracking in a way that persistently reminds parents, wherever they go across the web or their devices, to shop sustainably. The resulting ads drive curious (or exasperated) parents to eco-friendly awareness tools created by Gelo. “When it comes to sustainability, our future is quite literally in the hands of our kids—so we’ve given them this cheeky tool to help educate their elders,” said Curan Mehra, founder and CEO of Gelo. While some might say the tactic, which requires having kids install the tracker on parents' devices, is an intrusion and an annoyance, Mehra said the stakes are more than high enough to justify a little frustration. “More than 1.3 billion tons of plastic waste will flow into the world’s oceans over the next two decades without widespread intervention," Mehra said. "It’s hoped that this somewhat annoying drive for awareness will convert to tangible change in households across America and beyond.” We wanted to give kids a tool that will follow their parents around and tap them on the shoulder every time they buy a grill brush or hiking sandals or a new loofah.—Kevin Mulroy, ecd, Mischief Time for parents to do their part Gelo creates hand soaps that come in reusable bottles and are refilled via dissolving pods. The brand says its refill packs, which contain five pods, require 97% less packaging than five disposable bottles. This format also reduces the carbon emissions needed to transport the cleaner by 93% compared to traditional single-use packaging. Parent Track is aimed at getting parents to consider options like Gelo and its many peers in the eco-friendly product space. The campaign was inspired in part by results of a Nature Climate Change study that found children can boost parents' level of environmental concern by an average of 23%—and up to 40% when parents are conservative. "Never underestimate the motivating power of pestering," said Kevin Mulroy, partner and executive creative director at Mischief. "Parents have been in control of the world we’re living in for a long time, and they’re not getting the message about the simple things they can do to help the environment. We wanted to give kids a tool that will follow their parents around and tap them on the shoulder every time they buy a grill brush or hiking sandals or a new loofah and say, 'Hey, we’re doing our part—time for you to do yours.'" Fast Food Brands Have a Lot to Gain From Reducing Single-Use Packaging Waste

Sustainability News

Kids Can Use This Ad Tracker to Pester Their Parents Into Shopping Sustainably

Eco-friendly soap maker Gelo and agency Mischief made a tool to pester adults across the web

David Griner

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