Ad Council - The Champion of the PSA

By Ella Harrison

In 81 years of service, the Ad Council has gathered the greatest storytellers in America to educate citizens and champion change. Powerful storytelling is at the core of the program’s public service announcements.

Throughout wars, disease, pollution, and drug epidemics, the Ad Council has created some of the most iconic campaigns in our country’s history. Using a research-based strategy, the Council aims to shift mindsets and spur movements.

THE POWER OF THE PSA

Public Service Announcements (PSAs) are an impactful form of communication because they use the “brightest minds in media, tech, advertising, entertainment, and marketing to develop campaigns that inspire action – and change lives” (Ad Council).

As audience-driven messages, PSAs challenge viewers to make positive changes for themselves, their families, and their communities. The organization uses six key steps when producing campaigns.

1. Review all previous research and prior communications.

2. Question top issue experts.

3. Listen to real world focus groups.

4. Test initial hypotheses.

5. Refine using rapid testing to ensure message is optimized for target audience.

6. Engage with the right audience, at the right time, with the right messages to produce lasting change.

I am particularly thankful for one of the Ad Council’s most well-known campaigns – Smokey Bear. In the 1940s, the Council began a series of messages featuring the story of Smokey Bear who educates Americans about fire safety even today.

Smokey the Bear. Courtesy: Ad Council

CAMPAIGNS THAT COMPEL ME

Other than topics related to my home, the campaigns that interested me the most on the Ad Council website were the Stories of Impact and the PSAs geared towards Health & Wellness.

My favorite Story of Impact from their 2021 Collection was “Carol l Music Mends Minds.” This PSA is impactful because it uses personal and emotional tactics to draw you into the message. The PSA introduces Carol, and her husband Owen, and tells an entire story of how music was a powerful resource for him when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s at an early age.

They connect you to the people, and then reveal that Owen recently passed away from Covid. This story arc is powerful to the audience because it establishes the fact that music was not only beneficial to him during life, but even as he became very sick. Carol explained that while he was unresponsive verbally, he would respond when she would play or sing to him.

Carol and Owen. Courtesy: Ad Council

I also liked the Ad Council’s Health & Wellness Campaign. Specifically, I found their campaign “Get Down With Your Blood Pressure” with The American Heart Association and American Medical Association powerful. I was drawn to this PSA because I am interested in doing my PSA on heart healthfulness. The campaign site gave practical and easy ways to check your blood pressure, and warning signs of a cardiac event. I think that this method of simplicity along with graphics is effective for PSAs.

Courtesy: American Heart Association

LOOK FORWARD

With a future career in sports, I think that public service announcements would be useful in informing athletes about their physical health as well as their mental health. In the physical health and wellness field, PSAs could provide athletes with information about injuries such as concussions and the danger of continuous head injuries. Public service announcements could also provide athletes with resources and ways to manage mental health.

The Ad Council Website provided me with a lot of useful information for researching and producing our upcoming PSA. I was unaware of how much thought goes into the planning. I think the most important aspect of their information was their commitment to storytelling. I think with PSAs it is easy to get caught up in the data and numbers. While stats are important to the message, stories are what draw people to take in the content.