Public Service Announcement
For this assignment we were required to create a PSA based on the drug and alcohol use/abuse going on at College of Charleston. I chose to highlight alcohol abuse as it is, according to the Peer Counseling Center, the number one drug abuse problem at CofC because alcohol is so readily available.
I chose to make a simple, but powerful PSA. In my opinion, if a PSA has a clear and simple message, it will be the most memorable.
I know you said that we could change the background color, but I chose to keep a black background because the topic of my PSA is dark. I chose to tell a story with pictures. In the first, there is a college age man who has chosen to go out and have a drink with a friend. The second picture depicts him getting out of control. The picture is blurred to show that he has had a few too many. The third picture shows him passed out in bed as the sun comes up. The fourth, and final picture, shows his classroom that morning. The picture is focused on his empty desk surrounded by a class filled with students. He has let his drinking go too far on a school night. He has let the partying aspect of college take over the actual reason he is there: to go to class and graduate. He needs help.
I chose to write the words, in bold contrasting white print, “Is it worth it?” alongside these pictures. The words are in 80 point IMPACT. (Apropos, I think…) I thought the words I chose were appropriate because they make the reader think. Is this lifestyle worth it? Is missing class worth it? Is having a hangover worth it? Is possibly failing my classes for alcohol worth it? To the person out there having a problem with alcohol, when they see this PSA, it will make them think. I know this because I was that person in my first go-round at college. I flunked out and didn’t graduate because I never went to class, never did my homework, but I had one heck of a social life. Had I seen this PSA maybe I would have graduated back then. Maybe I wouldn’t have. But maybe, just maybe, I would have called the number on the bottom of the PSA and asked for help and I wouldn’t be a 35 year old trying like hell to get a college degree when I have so many other responsibilities at home.
I think this PSA does its job. I also think that it’s versatile enough to use as a television PSA as well. A producer could have actors act out the first two pictures to loud “bar” music and the last two to silence, ending with the saying in white set against a black background along with the contact information. So, the PSA could be used for print and tv. More bang for the customers buck!
This PSA stands out. It means something and I think it’s the type of PSA that could be used in the real world.