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]
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.
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.
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.
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'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]
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 period of 2008 till 2013 which is also commonly known as "Pak Abu PSAs" and was frequently shown in Malaysian TV channels,including Astro. [11]
In 2021,the Malaysia Government produced a series of PSAs known as Lindung Diri, Lindung Semua.The PSAs covering information about Covid-19 vaccines and why we need the get vaccinated. The PSAs series also features Muhyiddin Yassin. [12]
IAA Responsibility Awards is an annual international festival of public service announcements, held by the International Advertising Association since 2008. [13]
Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong. The company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Cantonese language service, and TVB Pearl as its main English service. TVB is headquartered at TVB City at the Tseung Kwan O Industrial Estate.
The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting formerly called National Iranian Radio and Television until the Iranian revolution of 1979, is an Iranian state-controlled media corporation that holds a monopoly of domestic radio and television services in Iran. It is also among the largest media organizations in Asia and the Pacific region and a regular member of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union. Its head is appointed directly by the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The Advertising Council, commonly known as the Ad Council, is an American nonprofit organization that produces, distributes, and promotes public service announcements on behalf of various sponsors, including nonprofit organizations, non-governmental organizations and agencies of the United States government.
Radio Televisyen Malaysia, also known as the Department of Broadcasting, Malaysia is the national public broadcaster of Malaysia, headquartered at Angkasapuri, Kuala Lumpur. Established on 1 April 1946 as Radio Malaya, it is the first and the oldest broadcaster in the country.
Public information films (PIFs) are a series of government-commissioned short films, shown during television advertising breaks in the United Kingdom. The name is sometimes also applied, faute de mieux, to similar films from other countries, but the US equivalent is the public service announcement (PSA). Public information films were commonplace from the 1950s until the 2000s. However, they became obsolete with the closure of the Central Office of Information.
The More You Know is a series of public service announcements (PSAs) broadcast on the NBCUniversal family of networks in the United States and other locations, featuring educational messages. These PSAs are broadcast occasionally during NBC's network programming.
The National Film Department of Malaysia, abbreviated FNM, sometimes Jabatan Filem Negara (JFN) or informally the Malaysian Film Unit; was a Malaysian state-owned film organization. It is the country's first film studio and the government department under the Malaysian Ministry of Communications and Multimedia, which was responsible for the filming and documentation of national events as well as producing factual and unscripted contents. In its heyday, FNM became the country's most prominent film agency. Its corporate emblem features a jumping Malayan tiger, which was synonymous with the agency and its headquarters were located in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
The National Film Development Corporation Malaysia, abbreviated FINAS, is the central government agency for the film industry of Malaysia. Its role is to regulate economic matters related to the film industry in Malaysia. FINAS is similar to the Motion Picture Association of America in the United States. In 2013, the corporation was merged with Filem Negara Malaysia (FNM) to form a sole film agency.
BusRadio was an American company established in 2004, with the goal of providing several services to school buses, their drivers and passengers. It was envisioned that the service would transmit music, original programming, public service announcements (PSAs) and paid commercials to school children travelling on school buses in selected school districts. BusRadio was based in Needham, Massachusetts.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current state with its current name on New Year's Day 1927. The oldest and largest local and global broadcaster by stature and by number of employees, the BBC employs over 21,000 staff in total, of whom approximately 17,900 are in public-sector broadcasting.
Educational advertisements are ad campaigns in which the creators attempt to inform, update, or persuade the public to engage in or avoid current issues. This type of advertisement is often negatively associated with propaganda. While similar to public service announcements, educational advertisements often cross into commercial fields whereas public service announcements are oriented on strict non-profit basis. Educational advertisements focus on a number of modern social, political, religious, and consumer-based issues. They traditionally appear on television and radio, but more and more campaigns are turning to the internet, especially email, as a cheap and efficient way to spread their messages. While most educational advertisements are deployed in the United States of America, there have been campaigns across Europe, Canada, and New Zealand. However, due to the dependence on technology to broadcast their messages, campaigns usually appear in developed countries where the largest possible population is likely to encounter their message.
Abdul Mubin Sheppard, born Mervyn Cecil ffrank Sheppard, pen name M. C. ff Sheppard, was a Malaysian World War II veteran and prisoner of war, as well as a renowned historian and academician.
I Need to Know was a Nigerian family-oriented television series aired on the Nigerian Television Authority network (NTA) that ran from 1997 to 2002. It starred Funke Akindele as Bisi, Uche Ejiogu as Ngozi, Taiwo Lesh as Hauwa and Amaka Egwuatu as Essien and was sponsored by the United Nations Population Fund.
The International Television Expert Group (ITVE) is a global television business information and networking platform. It was founded on October 12, 2007 in Berlin, Germany.
The Golden Bell Awards is an annual Taiwanese television and radio production award presented in October or November each year by the Bureau of Audiovisual and Music Industry Development, a division of Taiwan's Ministry of Culture. It is the first radio and television production award in Chinese circulation, founded in 1965, and Taiwan's equivalent to the Emmy Awards. It is also one of the three major annual entertainment and cultural awards presented in Taiwan, along with the Golden Melody Awards for music and the Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards for films. The awards were presented by the Government Information Office until 2011.
Partnership to End Addiction, formerly called The Partnership for a Drug Free America, is a non-profit organization aiming to prevent the misuse of illegal drugs. The organization is most widely known for its TV ad This Is Your Brain on Drugs.
The Ministry of Communications and Digital is a ministry of the Government of Malaysia that is responsible for digitalisation, communications, multimedia, radio broadcasting, digital terrestrial television broadcasting, other media broadcasts, information, personal data protection, special affairs, media industry, film industry, domain name, postal, courier, mobile service, fixed service, broadband, digital signature, universal service, international broadcasting, and content.
True Crime Network is an American digital multicast television network that is operated by True Crime Network, LLC, a limited liability company, which is owned by Tegna Inc. The network specializes in true crime, investigation and forensic science documentary programming aimed at adults – with a skew toward women – between the ages of 25 and 54.
Korea Broadcast Advertising Corporation (KOBACO) is the only media representative in South Korea operating as an agency that represents every terrestrial broadcasting company of South Korea for their broadcast advertising sales. KOBACO was established in 1981 and it was re-established as a government-funded public media representative in May 2012.
TV advertisements by country refers to how television advertisements vary in different countries and regions.
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