Message in the public interest communicated widely
A
public service announcement
(
PSA
) is a message in the public interest disseminated by the
media
without charge to raise public awareness and change behavior. In the
UK
, they are generally called a
public information film
(
PIF
); in
Hong Kong
, they are known as an
announcement in the public interest
(
API
).
[1]
History
[
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]
The earliest public service announcements (in the form of moving pictures) were made before and during the
Second World War
years in both the UK and the US.
In the UK, amateur actor
Richard Massingham
set up Public Relationship Films Ltd. in 1938 as a specialist agency for producing short educational films for the public. In the films, he typically played a bumbling character who was slightly more stupid than average and often explained the message of the film by demonstrating the risks if it were ignored. The films covered topics such as how to cross the road, how to prevent the spread of diseases, how to swim, and how to drive without causing the road to be unsafe for other users. During the war, he was commissioned by the
UK Ministry of Information
to produce films for the war effort.
[2]
Massingham began to produce longer films, for both private companies and the Government, after the War.
In the US, the
Ad Council
(initially called the War Advertising Council) was set up in 1941, when America entered World War II.
[3]
It began implementing on a massive scale the idea of using advertising to influence American society on a range of fronts. Its first campaigns focused on the country's needs during World War II, such as encouraging the American public to invest their savings in
government bonds
.
In different countries
[
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]
United Kingdom
[
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]
After the war, PSAs were used to educate the public on a broader range of issues. In the UK, they were produced for the
Central Office of Information
(COI), and again by private contractors, which were usually small film companies, such as
Richard Taylor Cartoons
. They were supplied to broadcasters free of charge for use at any time. Their utility as a cost-free means to fill the gaps in commercial breaks left by unsold advertising airtime has led to their regular usage since the 1960s.
United States
[
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]
The most common topics of PSAs are health and safety, such as the multimedia "Emergency Preparedness & Safety Tips On Air and Online"
talk radio
campaign.
[4]
[5]
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
.
One of the earliest television public service announcements came in the form of
Smokey Bear
whose "Only you can prevent forest fires" campaign ran for decades.
[6]
Other common early themes were traffic safety, especially safe crossing, wearing seat belts and not driving drunk, and the dangers of cigarette smoking.
A
charitable organization
may enlist the support of a celebrity for a PSA; examples include
actress
Kathryn Erbe
telling people to
be green
and
Crips gang
leader
Stanley Williams
speaking from prison to urge youths not to join gangs or commit crimes.
Some television shows featuring
very special episodes
made PSAs after the episodes. For example,
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
talked about
child abduction
in one episode, with a PSA about child abduction airing after the episode. After
My Sister Sam
was canceled in 1988, surviving cast members:
Pam Dawber
,
Joel Brooks
,
Jenny O'Hara
, and
David Naughton
were reunited to film a PSA for the center to Prevent Handgun Violence on gun control after the murder of their co-star,
Rebecca Schaeffer
, who was gunned down by a crazed fan on July 18, 1989, at Schaeffer's apartment in Los Angeles.
During the 1980s, many American cartoon shows contained PSAs at the end of their shows. Examples include the closing moral segments at the end of
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
, the "Knowing is Half the Battle" epilogues in
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero
,
Jem
,
M.A.S.K.
,
Inspector Gadget
, and the "Sonic Says" segments from
Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog
.
PSAs are used as placeholders for unsold
commercials
.
South Korea
[
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]
PSAs in South Korea are produced by the Public Service Advertising Council, an organization under the
Korea Broadcasting Advertisement Corporation (KOBACO)
. The Public Service Advertising Council is in charge of advisory roles such as selecting the topic of PSAs broadcast in Korea for one year, establishing public relations measures, and seeking strategies. The Public Service Advertising Council is made up of about 15 persons nominated by advertising academia, broadcasting, advertising industry, and civic groups.
The organization evolved from the 'Broadcasting Advertising Improvement Advisory Committee' formed on August 18, 1981. After going through the 'Public Service Advertising Improvement Advisory Committee' on February 7, 1983, the name was changed to the current name on July 1, 1988.
As of 2020, there are a total of 400 PSAs produced by the KOBACO.
China
[
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]
China's first PSAs in 1986 were about saving water and were broadcast on Guiyang television.
[
citation needed
]
In
Hong Kong
, terrestrial television networks have been required since
National Day
2004 to preface their main evening news broadcasts with a minute-long announcement in the public interest which plays the
Chinese National Anthem
in
Mandarin
over various patriotic montages.
[7]
[10]
Malaysia
[
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]
Filem Negara Malaysia
(FNM) became the early pioneers of PSAs from its establishment in 1946. PSAs produced by FNM have topics such as
dengue fever
,
drug addiction
,
environmental pollution
,
road safety
and
electricity usage
. Governmental agencies such as
Ministry of Health
have produced PSAs to promote their Healthy Lifestyle Campaign which held annually since 1991, with the "Utamakan Kesihatan" ("Prioritize Health") logo appearing at the end of their ads, most notably PSAs about
AIDS
.
PSAs on road safety were produced by
Ministry of Transport
, particularly on accidents amongst motorcyclists and alcohol consumption amongst drivers. Some of their ads also using "Anda Mampu Mengubahnya" ("You Can Make a Difference") slogan and also using some of famous actors and actresses including the late
Adibah Noor
and
Nabil Ahmad
. Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment also produces PSAs focusing on environmental pollution. PSAs on
corruption
and
bribery
were produced by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (now
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission
). Most of these PSAs were aired on
Radio Televisyen Malaysia
(RTM) and
TV Pendidikan
between the 1990s and 2000s. Private TV networks like
TV3
have also produced in-house PSAs, covering topics such as not downloading pirated content, some of which feature actress and infotainer,
Janna Nick
; and
domestic violence
which features actress Eyra Hazali.
There was a series of animated PSAs that was made by
Filem Negara Malaysia
during from 2008 till 2013 which is also commonly known as "Pak Abu PSAs" and was frequently shown in Malaysian TV channels.
[11]
In 2021, the Malaysia Government produced a series of PSAs known as "
Lindung Diri, Lindung Semua
". The PSAs cover information about Covid-19 vaccines and the benefits of vaccination. The series also features the
Prime Minister of Malaysia
at that time,
Muhyiddin Yassin
.
[12]
Festivals and contests
[
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]
IAA Responsibility Awards is an annual international
festival
of public service announcements, held by the
International Advertising Association
since 2008.
[13]
See also
[
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]
References
[
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]
- ^
"TV Announcements in the Public Interest (APIs)"
. Information Services Department - HKSAR Government
. Retrieved
10 March
2022
.
- ^
"A Warning to Travellers"
. Archived from
the original
on December 2, 2013
. Retrieved
November 20,
2013
.
- ^
"The Museum of Broadcast Communications - Encyclopedia of Television"
.
www.museum.tv
. Archived from
the original
on 2018-12-13
. Retrieved
2018-12-31
.
- ^
"National Safety Month"
. nsc.org. Archived from
the original
on June 16, 2014
. Retrieved
April 9,
2010
.
- ^
"Flavor Flav Celebrates National Safety Month"
.
Blogcritics
. Archived from
the original
on July 14, 2012.
- ^
"Public Service Advertising"
.
www.psaresearch.com
. Archived from
the original
on May 27, 2019
. Retrieved
May 21,
2011
.
- ^
Vickers, Edward.
"Learning to Love the Motherland: 'National Education' in Post-Retrocession Hong Kong" in
Designing History in East Asian Textbooks: Identity Politics and Transnational Aspirations
, p. 94.
Routledge (Abingdon), 2011.
ISBN
9780415602525
- ^
News at 6:30
. Hosted on YouTube, July 10, 2009. Accessed January 25, 2015.
(in Chinese and Yue Chinese)
- ^
"Chinese National Anthem"
. YouTube, May 9, 2012.
- ^
Examples from 2009
[8]
and 2012.
[9]
- ^
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjkm4fP_esJKZ1rJ02-L7Xl2pkBgtRsD8
- ^
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4HhxrwMAlw&si=wE3TOF7UdwRSBsZJ
- ^
"IAA Responsibility awards 2010"
.
www.act-responsible.org
. Archived from
the original
on December 31, 2018
. Retrieved
July 10,
2015
.
External links
[
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]