Samsung puts a face on India’s e-waste crisis in new spot

Before we get to the actual campaign, some context will be helpful.

India’s e-waste problem is anything but small. The country churns out over 3.2 million metric tonnes of discarded electronics every year, making it the world’s third-largest generator behind the US and China. Yet, only a fraction gets formally recycled, with 95% handled by the informal sector, which exposes workers to toxic hazards, chronic illnesses and leaves soil and underground water at a contamination risk. To tackle this, the Indian government has pushed the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) mandate on tech majors to finance recycling at roughly $.25/kilogram. Grounded in the ‘polluters pay principle,’ EU, Japan and US have similar practices to make producers financially responsible for the end-of-life management of their products. 

Samsung (along with LG and Hitachi) has challenged these costs in court, arguing they make pricing unsustainable.

Now that you have the backdrop, the film at hand is an engaging 30-second animated drop for International E-waste Day (October 14). Creative arm Cheil has dabbled in a well-executed animation featuring discarded electronics that morph into a grotesque e-mutant—broken radios, shattered computers and snapped wires that weld into a Frankensteinian monster that visualises the toxic consequences of improper disposal. 

In conjunction with this CSR initiative, Samsung also organised an awareness drive on the hazards of improper e-waste handling across 1,200 of its customer service centres in India, as part of the ongoing ‘Care for Clean India’ programme.

Campaign’s take: 'E-Mutant' is a timely reminder of the importance of responsible e-waste disposal. But the disconnect for us is the company's simultaneous legal challenges to the new recycling fees that raise questions about its commitment to the cause. The ad should work for consumer awareness, which is the need for the hour, but real progress requires industry accountability beyond animation.