Public Service announcements as texts

Public service announcements (PSA) A message of public interest to raise awareness of a social issue with the goal of changing public attitudes and behavior. Commercials on television Posters with images & text The earliest public service announcements in the US emerged during World War II. The Ad Council (initially called the War Advertising Council) produced many of these with the goal of influencing American behavior in areas such as buying war bonds. PSAs have evolved over time. The most common PSAs in the ‘70s and ‘80s concerned health and safety. Can you think of any examples of PSAs you’ve seen recently? What are they mostly about?

Persuasive elements in public service announcements You can examine PSAs using rhetorical appeals, advertising techniques, and propaganda techniques. Consider the target audience. Who is the PSA directed toward? Why? What is the goal the advertisement is trying to achieve? Why? How does the ad appeal to the target audience using ethos, pathos, and/or logos? What makes it effective? Look for appeals using FEAR. What makes this a powerful emotion to play on? Consider tone & mood created, as well as images and sounds. What is the effect? Everything placed in the ad is there purposefully. Try to figure out why.

Public service announcement project DUE TUESDAY MAY 28th by 8:00pm (emailed to me) so we can watch them in class Wednesday the 29th. 10 culminating points + participation from your group Groups of 4-5 Your task is to create a 30 second to 1 minute public service announcement focusing on a current issue TODAY. How you choose to do this is up to you. It can be animated or it can be live action with your group members acting, etc. Consider propaganda techniques you can use, advertising techniques, and also rhetorical appeals to focus on.

PSA Topics Littering Nutrition Texting and driving Anti-smoking Body image Practice Kindness Recycling Voting Cyber bullying Text Anxiety Procrastination The power of words Stranger danger Posting on social media Peer pressure Global warming Cheating Healthy choices

Watch & Analyze Watch example PSAs from the PowerPoint slide I’ve placed under IB docs on my website. Choose 4 in your table groups to watch together and analyze, looking for the categories on your handout. Once you’re done watching and filling in your handout, choose 1 PSA to focus on in depth with your table group and develop a dominant effect and two body thesis statements for a potential commentary. You will be turning this in today so use your time wisely

PSA Examples Mr. Yuk Commercial (’74): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLsONa3gKIQ He Man (80s): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mhfMMvoUfc McGruff The Crime Dog (‘84): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxLD1uq94sE This is Your Brain on Drugs (80s): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOnENVylxPI I Learned by Watching You (80s): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUXb7do9C-w Don’t Play with Matches (80s): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwP_IT1jV1Q Mr. T- Don’t Do Drugs (80s): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJiTxtcW-is Stranger Danger (80s): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mEQmrw6JpA Smokey the Bear (80s): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6xMd0wSbZc Linda (‘88): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82HOhcSkR7A Clint Eastwood (80s): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caUtxc8lRLY