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Information about Public Service Announcement

A public service announcement (PSA) or community service announcement (CSA) is a non-commercial advertisement typically on radio or television, ostensibly broadcast for the public good.

The main concept is to modify public attitudes by raising awareness about specific issues.

PSAs in the United States

The most common topics of PSAs are health and safety, although any message considered to be "helpful" to the public can be a PSA. A typical PSA will be part of a public awareness campaign to inform or educate the public against smoking or compulsive gambling. Often, a celebrity may promote a foundation and ask for support from viewers or listeners, an example being Michael J. Fox's PSAs in the U.S. supporting research into Parkinson's Disease, or featuring "scaring straight" Crips street gang leader Stanley "Tookie" Williams from prison, urging the young not to join gangs. Some religious groups produce PSAs about non-religious themes such as family values as a means of increasing awareness of their church, and to show the role the church has in serving the community. Examples include the long-running "Homefront" campaign from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and more recently the United Methodist Church. Also, the military produces PSAs to recruit enlistees, alongside paid advertising and sponsorship efforts.

In the U.S, the role of PSAs was affected by deregulation of the broadcasting industry in the 1980s. Previously, a broadcast license was assigned to a television or radio station that was expected to serve as a "public trustee" by airing, among other requirements, frequent PSAs. Continued licensure no longer depends strictly on programming content, and the number of PSAs that are deliberately scheduled has declined, yet new PSAs continue to be produced and aired.

Today TV or radio stations typically use PSAs as a way to fill unsold commercial time, or to demonstrate their commitment to a particular cause. Some non-profit organizations such as the American Cancer Society and Red Cross choose to ensure usage by purchasing commercial airtime. Smaller organizations like the American Indian College Fund rely solely on donated media space to get their message out.

The Ad Council, while the largest producer of PSAs in the United States, requires substantial funding from the organizations that qualify for their work.

Well-known PSAs

See also

External links

  • PSA Research Center, the only on-line information center dedicated solely to public service advertising, social issues and cause marketing.
  • Attack of the PSAs 2: The Sequel and Attack of the PSAs - Blogs Remember the PSAs that you grew up with? Well, they're back. Every Wednesday there will be a new video of some of our favorite Public Service Announcements throughout time. And remember... Knowledge is Power!
  • Ad Council, the largest producer of public service announcements in the United States.
  • Partnership for a Drug-Free America, a well-known sponsor of public service announcements on a specific theme. The group behind the "This is your brain on drugs" TV spot.
  • WestGlen Communications, a consultant, producer, and distributor of PSAs on television, radio, and the web.
  • Goodwill Communications, Goodwill Communications, a distributor of public service materials to all media with a division specializing in cause related marketing.
  • American Indian College Fund, providing Tribal College scholarships to Native American students around the country.
  • Homefront, 30 year campaign funded by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, promoting family values.
Advertising is paid, one-way communication through a medium in which the sponsor is identified and the message is controlled by the sponsor. Variations include publicity, public relations, etc..
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Radio is the wireless transmission of signals, by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space.
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Television (often abbreviated to TV, T.V., or more recently, tv; sometimes called telly, the tube, boob tube, or idiot box in British English) is a widely used telecommunication system for broadcasting and receiving moving pictures
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public good is a good that is non-rival and non-excludable. This means that consumption of the good by one individual does not reduce the amount of the good available for consumption by others; and no one can be effectively excluded from using that good.
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An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC). Advertising campaigns appear in different media across a specific time frame.
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An addiction is a recurring compulsion by an individual to engage in some specific activity, despite harmful consequences to the individuals health, mental state or social life.
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A foundation is a legal categorization of nonprofit organizations. Foundations may also and often have charitable purposes. This type of nonprofit organisation may either donate funds and support to other organizations, or provide the sole source of funding for their own charitable
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Michael J. Fox

Michael J. Fox and his wife Tracy Pollan, 1988
Birth name Michael Andrew Fox
Born May 9 1961 (1961--) (age 46)
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
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Motto
"In God We Trust"   (since 1956)
"E Pluribus Unum"   ("From Many, One"; Latin, traditional)
Anthem
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Crips

Raymond Washington, founder of the Crips.
In: Los Angeles, California
By: Raymond Washington
Years active: 1969 - present
Territory: Los Angeles, California, most big cities in the USA
Ethnic makeup: mostly African American
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A gang is a group of individuals that share a common identity, even if that identity consists of little more than their association with one another. In early English usage, it referred to a group of workmen, and later underwent pejoration.
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Stanley Tookie Williams III (December 29, 1953 – December 13, 2005), born in Monroe, Louisiana, was a convicted murderer and an early leader of the Crips, a notorious American street gang which had its roots in South Central Los Angeles in 1971.
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worldwide view of the subject.
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This article is about family values as a political concept. For the rock music tour, see Family Values Tour.

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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Classification Restorationist
Orientation Latter Day Saint movement
Polity Hierarchical
Founder Joseph Smith, Jr.
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United Methodist Church

United Methodist Church logo Cross and flame
Classification Protestant
Orientation Mainline[1] & Evangelical[2]
Polity Episcopal (Connectionalism)
Origin 1968:
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Deregulation is the process by which governments remove, reduce, or simplify restrictions on business and individuals with the intent of encouraging the efficient operation of markets.
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The American Cancer Society (ACS) is the "nationwide community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy and
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International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement French: Mouvement international de la Croix-Rouge et du Croissant-Rouge, is an international humanitarian movement whose stated mission is to protect human life and health, to ensure
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The Advertising Council, commonly known as the Ad Council, is an American privately funded non-profit organization that distributes public service announcements on behalf of various sponsors, including non-profit organizations and agencies of the United States government.
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Sailor Moon (美少女戦士セーラームーン
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The Incredible Crash Dummies is a line of action figures styled after the eponymous crash test dummies first popularized in a public service advertising campaign of the late 1980s, to educate people on the safety of wearing seat belts.
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The Transformers is an American animated television series depicting a war between giant robots who could transform into vehicles, animals, and other objects. Written and recorded in America, and produced for American audiences, the series was animated in Japan and South
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Heritage Minutes (Historica Minutes: History by the Minute) are sixty-second short films each illustrating an important moment in Canadian history. They appear frequently on Canadian television and in cinemas before movies.
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Hinterland Who's Who is a series of 60-second public service ads profiling Canadian animals and birds, produced by Environment Canada in the 1960s. The distinctive refrain of flute music that each of these ads opened with, along with the very low-key style of the narrator,
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Just Say No" was a television advertising campaign, part of the US "War on Drugs" and prevalent during the 1980s and early 1990s, to discourage children from engaging in recreational drug use by offering various ways of saying no.
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Iron Eyes Cody (April 3, 1904 – January 4, 1999) was an actor born in Gueydan, Louisiana. He was born Espera De Corti, the son of Sicilian immigrants Francesca Salpietra and Antonio De Corti.
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Keep America Beautiful is an environmental organization founded in 1953. It is the largest community improvement organization in the United States, with over 560 affiliate organizations (similar to local chapters) and more than 15,000 participating communities in their signature
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Love. It Comes in All Colors was a National Urban Coalition television commercial and print advertisement from 1970. It was part of a campaign to promote racial harmony. It featured political activists, and celebrities from sports, show business, government, and business.
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