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| The Ad Council made its mark by implementing on a massive scale the idea of using advertising to influence American society on a range of fronts. The first Ad Council campaigns focused on the country's needs during World War II. After the War, the Ad Council expanded its focus to address issues such as forest fires, blood donations and highway safety.<ref name="adcouncil"></ref> | The Ad Council made its mark by implementing on a massive scale the idea of using advertising to influence American society on a range of fronts. The first Ad Council campaigns focused on the country's needs during World War II. After the War, the Ad Council expanded its focus to address issues such as forest fires, blood donations and highway safety.<ref name="adcouncil"></ref> | ||
| Over the following decades PSAs solidified into a major presence in U.S. TV and radio. For some years broadcast stations were required to air PSAs, in addition to meeting other requirements, as part of serving as a "public trustee."<ref name="regulation">[http://www.northwestern.edu/ipr/publications/papers/wp0107.pdf Public Service Announcements, Broadcasters, and the Public Interest: | Over the following decades PSAs solidified into a major presence in U.S. TV and radio. For some years broadcast stations were required to air PSAs, in addition to meeting other requirements, as part of serving as a "public trustee."<ref name="regulation"></ref> | ||
| Regulatory Background and the Digital Future]</ref> | |||
| The role of PSAs was affected by ] of the broadcasting industry in the 1980s. | The role of PSAs was affected by ] of the broadcasting industry in the 1980s. | ||
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| ==Characteristics== | ==Characteristics== | ||
| The most common topics of PSAs are health and safety. A typical PSA is part of a public awareness ] to inform or educate the public about an issue such as ] or ]. The range of possible topics has expanded over time. | The most common topics of PSAs are health and safety. A typical PSA is part of a public awareness ] to inform or educate the public about an issue such as ] or ]. The range of possible topics has expanded over time. | ||
| From time to time a ] enlists the support of a celebrity for a PSA; examples include ] ] telling people to be green and ] ] leader ] speaking from prison to urge youth not to join gangs. Some PSAs tell people to adopt animals instead of buying them. Protecting our Earth, also known as being green, is another example of a current PSA topic. | From time to time a ] enlists the support of a celebrity for a PSA; examples include ] ] telling people to be green and ] ] leader ] speaking from prison to urge youth not to join gangs. Some PSAs tell people to adopt animals instead of buying them. Protecting our Earth, also known as being green, is another example of a current PSA topic. | ||
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| ==External links== | ==External links== | ||
| * The PSA Research Center | * The PSA Research Center | ||
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Revision as of 17:43, 19 January 2011
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A public service announcement (PSA) or public service ad is a type of advertisement featured on television, radio, print or other media. Whereas the objective of a standard advertisement is to market a product, a PSA is intended to benefit the public interest, by raising awareness of an issue, affecting public attitudes, and potentially stimulating action.
History
While advertisements related to public issues likely stretch back as far as advertising itself, the PSA in its current form was in many ways shaped by the Ad Council (initially called the War Advertising Council) during and after World War II.
The Ad Council made its mark by implementing on a massive scale the idea of using advertising to influence American society on a range of fronts. The first Ad Council campaigns focused on the country's needs during World War II. After the War, the Ad Council expanded its focus to address issues such as forest fires, blood donations and highway safety.
Over the following decades PSAs solidified into a major presence in U.S. TV and radio. For some years broadcast stations were required to air PSAs, in addition to meeting other requirements, as part of serving as a "public trustee."
The role of PSAs was affected by deregulation of the broadcasting industry in the 1980s.
New PSAs continue to be produced and aired today, although stations are no longer mandated to air them for free.
The Ad Council continues as the leading producer and distributor of PSAs. The Ad Council takes on a focused selection of campaigns at a time, while other firms such as Goodwill Communications serve organizations outside of the focus of the Ad Council.
Characteristics
The most common topics of PSAs are health and safety. A typical PSA is part of a public awareness campaign to inform or educate the public about an issue such as obesity or compulsive gambling. The range of possible topics has expanded over time.
From time to time a charitable organization enlists the support of a celebrity for a PSA; examples include actress Kathryn Erbe telling people to be green and Crips street gang leader Stanley "Tookie" Williams speaking from prison to urge youth not to join gangs. Some PSAs tell people to adopt animals instead of buying them. Protecting our Earth, also known as being green, is another example of a current PSA topic.
Some religious organizations produce PSAs on non-religious themes such as family values. Examples include the long-running homefront campaign from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and campaigns by the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the United Methodist Church.
The military produces PSAs to recruit enlistees. For a case history of many different military PSA campaigns, go to <ref name="military PSAs"> U.S. Military PSA Campaigns. Some television shows featuring very special episodes made PSAs after the episodes. For example, Law & Order:SVU talked about child abduction so it had a PSA about child abduction. Another example is, Law & Order talked about drunk driving so it had a PSA about drunk driving.
Some television PSAs have topics such as on not watching so much T.V., or not taking fictional shows literally, or T.V., movie, or video game ratings.
See also
- Advertising
- Propaganda
- Public relations
- Public information film (their British equivalent, made for the government)
References
- Museum of Broadcast Communications
- Matters of Choice: Advertising in the Public Interest
- Public Service Announcements, Broadcasters, and the Public Interest: Regulatory Background and the Digital Future
- Homefront Campaign has produced the award-winning Homefront PSA series for three decades
External links
- The PSA Research Center
- Ad Council
- A History of PSAs
- Example PSAs
- The Foundation for a Better Life
- Homefront
- VIHdeo America: an anthology of 10 years of HIV TV spots in the Americas
- A Huffington Post article featuring nine PSAs
- PSA In Russia
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