What to know
- For Media Literacy Week, the Toronto Zoo, MediaSmarts, and the CN Tower released a PSA on the house hippo.
- The PSA references the iconic 1999 house hippo, which aimed to teach children to critically think about the content they saw on TV.
- The new PSA features Kindia the pygmy hippo, who recently gave birth to Maple.
- Media Literacy Week runs from Oct. 26 to Oct. 30
Canadians’ favourite elusive domesticated animal is back after 27 years, except it’s now roaming around the CN tower.
For Media Literacy Week, the Toronto Zoo partnered with MediaSmarts and the CN Tower to bring back the iconic House Hippo public service announcement, featuring Kindia the pygmy hippo.
The PSA opens with several scenes of Kindia roaming around the CN Tower’s observation deck and an infographic explaining the difference between a pygmy hippo (Choeropsis liberiensis) and a house hippo (hippopotamus domesticus).
“It’s been a busy time here at your Toronto Zoo as we worked to solve a mystery with our friends at the CN Tower, who reached out yesterday requesting help identifying an elusive species spotted around the Tower, and then also showed up on a Toronto Zoo livecam,” reads a press release from the Toronto Zoo.
“After reviewing the evidence, it appears we are both dealing with a rare species many Canadians might remember from the mid 1990s, commonly known as the Canadian house hippo.”
Towards the end of the PSA, the video shows how Kindia was edited into the CN Tower, along with a message reminding viewers to “think about what you see on social media, on your phone, and on TV.”
The Canadian house hippo the zoo references is a beloved PSA from 1999 produced by Companies Committed to Kids (formerly Concerned Children’s Advertisers), a Toronto non-profit organization that introduced PSAs covering topics such as self-esteem, bullying, drug abuse, and conformity.
The original PSA showed footage of the “North American house hippo” roaming around a house. It aimed at encouraging critical thinking in children and was a reminder that “It’s good to think about what you’re watching on TV, and ask questions.”
Millennials might also remember the What’s Your Thing video, with the iconic, “Mom! Aiden cut me in half again!” quote.
Media Literacy Week runs from Oct. 26 to Oct. 30. You can find more information here.
