‘Green coal’ ad tops charts

SK Innovation’s new ad campaign for its environmentally friendly “green coal” technology has been recognized by Korea’s largest commercial review site.

TVCF (www.tvcf.co.kr) named the green coal advertisement the most novel television commercial earlier in September for effectively visualizing the new technology, which transforms low-quality coal into a valuable resource used for synthesized oil and chemical products.

The SK Innovation ad shows a lump of coal breaking down into dust, then reassembling into light, oil and gas, in the style of a scientific documentary.

SK, the holding company of three oil refineries and chemical producers, says it considers green coal to be a new growth engine.

It believes it will be able to commercialize the technology in two to three years.

In the past, low-quality coal was considered useless, despite its inexpensive price, due to the pollution it generated after burning.

However, the green coal technology breaks down the carbon and eliminates impurities and dangerous by-products. The resulting product can create oil and high-quality chemical products just like regular coal.

The commercial is the latest in the company’s “Ask” ad campaign, which began earlier this year. An earlier ad in the series topped the same rankings on the TVCF Web site in May, contributing to the development of the company’s identity by symbolizing key projects and technologies.

SK Innovation said that it is planning more commercials for its next eco-friendly technology, producing plastic from captured carbon dioxide, which SK says will help fight against climate change.

BY KIM JI-YOON [jiyoon.kim@joongang.co.kr]