1. Public Service Announcement (PSA)

CREATING A PSA

Objective:

In this project you will research techniques commonly used in PSAs (public service announcements) and create your own original poster to promote awareness about a certain cause.

I.     Background

What is a PSA?

Public service announcements are advertisements serve the public interest.  The objective of a public service announcement is to educate and create awareness of significant social issues in an effort to change the public’s attitudes and behaviours and stimulate positive social change. PSAs are usually developed by non-profit organizations and may involve TV and radio spots, movie content, and print messages on billboards, posters, brochures and postcards.

Common Subjects for PSAs

PSAs address an incredibly wide variety of issues and social concerns.  Some of the most popular campaigns have been on the following subjects:

• Drinking and driving 
• Bullying 
• The environment 
• Racism and discrimination 
• Disease and/or medical conditions 
• Foreign aid (e.g. Hunger) 
• Drugs and alcohol 
• Abuse and violence 
• Education 
• Public safety (e.g. seat belts) 
• World ________ Day 
• Respect and tolerance

Techniques Used in PSAs

Depending on the target audience, PSAs use different approaches to direct their messages. What might be the advantages or disadvantages of the following styles?

Humour.  Humour tends to catch one’s attention, especially for kids and teens, but humour may trivialize serious issues.  Sometimes irony (or in its extreme, satire) can be very effective in conveying an important message.

Shock treatment.  Such campaigns provide a realistic look at an issue, but may turn people off entirely because of their graphic nature. Also, broadcasters may be reluctant to broadcast PSAs they feel may be too controversial.

Preaching.  This technique involves an individual or group pleading with an audience for greater awareness of the issue.  Note: there’s a fine line between earnestness and appearing to be patronizing.

Using a celebrity. Celebrities do get favourable attention, but sometimes people are so distracted by the celebrity they forget the message.

As you can see, each approach or technique has its advantages and disadvantages.  Common qualities for all good PSAs, however, include the following:

• Are relevant to their audience
• Are interesting or entertaining
• Leave the audience with a message that can be summarized in a single declarative sentence
• Demand an action or response from the audience
• Are simple in their execution
• Can be easily adapted for different media

II.    Research Phase

Research examples of popular PSA campaigns and save the images in a folder.  Find an example of PSAs that utilize the different techniques listed on the previous page.  NOTE: Be careful with the “shock treatment” approach, as sometimes these posters are extremely graphic.

Now choose ONE of the PSA posters you found and answer the following questions for analysis.  (Create your own analysis sheet)

PSA ANALYSIS

1. Subject of PSA?
2. Author or group promoting PSA?
3. Medium (e.g. Poster, web page, commercial, magazine ad, etc.)
4. What is the main message presented in the PSA?
5. What technique is utilized by the text creator in promoting the message?
6. How effective is this PSA?  Explain with specific detail.
7. Would this PSA affect you personally?  Why or why not?

III.   The Task

 Now you are ready to begin constructing your own PSA.  Choose a subject that personally interests you and design an original poster to promote the cause.  The PSA must include the following mandatory components and adhere to these retrictions:

• Original photography
• Original caption/slogan
• Content must be appropriate

 IV. The Rubric

 The specific ways in which your poster will evaluated are listed in the chart.

V.  Examples of PSAs