County Unveils New Ad To Fight Dust
Dusty `The Dusthole’ Returns to Illustrate Bad Behaviors

With his pickup truck and wide grin, Dusty, “the dusthole,” made a return this month to local airwaves as part of Clark County’s latest effort to educate motorists who kick up airborne dust by driving on unpaved roads, shoulders and across vacant lots.

A new 30-second TV commercial began airing May 10 on local television stations in a sequel to last fall’s Dusty campaign. The ad, produced by Las Vegas-based Thomas Puckett Advertising in conjunction with CCTV, the county’s television station, features a group of coughing, wheezing citizens and a mock reporter explaining the connection between a broken desert crust and airborne dust. Meanwhile, Dusty waves to viewers, revs up his engine and barrels across the desert, leaving the group covered in a plume of dust. The ad concludes with Dusty getting whacked by a cane-wielding woman and the line: “If you break the crust, you raise the dust.” 

“We found that our first campaign worked really well because it was a little edgy and got people talking about the problem,” said Christine Robinson, director of the county’s Air Quality department. “This time we’ve got a lot of education packed into a 30-second commercial. It’s still got a touch of humor but now instead of using the word ‘dusthole,’ we just let Dusty’s behavior speak for itself.”

The Las Vegas Valley is required to meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) health standards for dust, or particulate matter, by year-end 2006. Whether the valley passes or fails in 2006 depends on data that will be collected in 2004 and the next two years.

“This community has come a long way since we landed on the EPA’s list in 1993 as a serious non-attainment area for dust,” said County Commissioner Rory Reid. “Earlier this month the EPA approved our plan to control dust. An important component of our effort is public outreach and education. These ads help us get our message across to the residents about driving behaviors in the urban Las Vegas Valley that contribute to our dust problem.”

Dust from vacant lands is estimated to make up 36 percent of the valley’s dust pollution. Air Quality officials say driving across vacant lots in the valley is a significant source of the problem. Vehicle track out from unpaved roads and parking lots also is a key source. Once the desert crust is broken, light winds can carry desert particles and debris for miles.

“The dust that poses the most serious health threat is almost invisible to the naked eye,” said Dr. Donald Kwalick, Clark County Health District Chief Health Officer. “When you break the desert crust, dirt and debris from tires gets crushed into tiny particles that can wind up in people’s lungs when it becomes airborne. On dry, windy days, children, the elderly and anyone who has asthma or other breathing difficulties is urged to stay indoors.” 

The majority of the 30-second commercials will run on local networks and cable TV channels over the next seven weeks, though some ads may air through July. The campaign also will include a 10-second Spanish-language TV commercial, as well as ads on all local radio stations during traffic and weather reports. Print ads also will appear in the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the Las Vegas SUN. 

Because production was done in-house at CCTV, most of the campaign’s $150,000 budget will be spent directly with local media on paid advertising. An estimated 99 percent of average television viewers in the valley, age 18 and older, are expected to see the spots eleven times during the peak of the campaign.

“Our goal is to reach the widest audience possible with a limited advertising budget,” said County Manager Thom Reilly. “We’ve leveraged our in-house resources as much as possible with this campaign to ensure Air Quality’s advertising dollars get stretched as far as they can go.”

Air Quality officials say the number of telephone calls to the department’s dust hotline, (702) 385-DUST (3878) tripled last fall during the first phase of the Dusty campaign, which began in September. 

The first Dusty commercial, also produced by CCTV, won an excellence award for public service from the National Association of County Information Officers. Click here to see copy of that ad and the new one. Tips to reduce dust and a question-and-answer brochure about dust also are available on line.

Click here to see a list of key Air Quality accomplishments to date.