The PSAs/PIFs thread

[Deleted User 8]

These are TV advertisements where they stand for "public service announcement" or "public information film" (although that term is mostly used in the UK, whereas PSA is North American mostly). Each of these tell an important message about a certain concern/cause it concentrates on but to get themselves really heard or noticed, they rely on providing shocking or startling content just to get things across and sometimes, it can be effective and well, they need to be. From the problem of drink and drugs to road safety, and also about the environment, most are either disturbing or thought-provoking in their own right, there are some that are downright horrible that they are not worth talking about, and only garner complaints more than giving support.

One such PSA I talked about in an older thread I made was "Can't Look" from the NSPCC, that were known for making such disturbing ads to get people to realise the true horror of the concern they are campaigning against. However, nearly every ad from Montana Meth Project will make people's skin crawl and with this said to have dropped the number of meth users amongst teens in the US (but that's disputed). Oh yeah, that one PSA which helped stop rhino poaching completely (which is no doubt one of the most frightening):



There are many others that I know of upon gaining a recent interest in them (from around the UK to other parts of the world) but, I'll just dump a link to the whole collection, for your viewing pleasure (and maybe a good way to get nightmares, haha). On the contrary, not all are bad... some are quite good or uplifting, or even funny. There's also bad ones too which tell their message poorly, like that one from Brazil where getting fat was the same as breathing in secondhand smoke (and I'm not making that up, seriously).

I'll post some more from what I've seen on but for now, let's converse. Post some that you know also to keep things rolling

[Kyng]

Nice thread !

If you want some PSAs that will give you nightmares, check out the "Protect and Survive" series from 1976, which instructed on how to act in response to a nuclear attack. There's a whole playlist of them, covering a variety of possible scenarios, running to a total length of nearly an hour - but, I've picked out a few of them here:







Good thing none of this info turned out to be necessary, really!

[Deleted User 8]

The thing is though, did a nuclear attack ever happen at the time those were produced? Or as this a "just in case" tactic?

And yeah, I've seen some of them but they didn't scare me

[Kyng]

The thing is though, did a nuclear attack ever happen at the time those were produced? Or as this a "just in case" tactic?

And yeah, I've seen some of them but they didn't scare me

There hadn't been one since the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 - so, it was very much a "Just in case" tactic.

After all, it's definitely the kind of thing you'd want people to be prepared for, if there's any chance of it happening!

[Deleted User 8]

Even so, it's scaremongering none the less. At least ones to do with fire safety are more credible, and with some of them showing you what can happen if you don't check your smoke alarm regularly. But, not all PSAs are nightmare or paranoia fuel. Here's one that's more tamer but still makes you think.



That's right... this one from HEBS (Health Education Board of Scotland, now merged with NHS Health Scotland). Usually anti-drug PSAs have their own share of tactics to shock you and all but this just gives you raw facts of what will happen if you take drugs, and when you don't. I remember this one so well. Fun fact though, the ending bit was filmed in Partick and the bit where the boy sold his Playstation for drug money was at an independent games store within Glasgow's West End (but now defunct, as of 2005).

And now for a really light-hearted one, in where it was a childhood favourite amongst Canadians at the time

[Deleted User 8]

Now, some more... in where other countries seem to be more creative with their ads to raise a concern or go against a cause. First, a compilation of all ads from DOE, Ireland's answer to the UK's Department of Transport and Safety on the Move. When it comes to condemning people for reckless or drink driving, they really don't screw around. Watch below at your own discretion.



And meanwhile, the Netherlands gives you this ad where it more or less pokes fun at firework injury victims, in really the most twisted way possible (and that SIRE, the company that brought it out, usually mock such victims for it, along with the tagline "You're an ass/jerk when you play with fireworks" (original Dutch tagline in video below, but subsequent ones have it in English).



And then, we have very simple, short but effective ones, like this gem from Poland.



There's other ones that I know such as "Heaven Can Wait" from Belgium, that actually bagged itself many awards and a Swedish one where it was about being pressured into alcohol but, instead of actual drink, the man was being pressured into cookies (not unless if they were laced with alcohol I said nothin'). Also, a very funny one from Singapore where it features a drunk man unable to find his car keys and gets a taxi instead - only then to know that his dog had them

But let's not forget Fragile Childhood's "Monsters", from Finland. As if the sight of these "monsters" were horrifying enough (of what children see when their parents had a drink on them), those last twelve seconds could probably invade your mind for a while - even in your sleep. You've been warned. It even got a mention on CNN would you believe.

More will be posted (and talked about) later on. Enjoy these ones for now

[Deleted User 8]

Even more, but more so about a popular field to get people's attention about: road safety. However, I'm going to show some from Belgium and well, the style of ads depend on what region they're from. For instance, at Flanders, we have a wonderful one from Axion titled "Heaven Can Wait" and had even won an award at the Cannes Film Festival in 2002.


And another great one, where a road accident not only affects you but those close to you (as by the tagline from Dutch: "An accident affects more people than you think"):


But meanwhile down at Wallonia, there's nonsensical ones like this:

(the tagline at the end is "At 50km/h, it's a lot less funny")

When I mentioned Safety on the Move, I can't believe I did not mention the collection of PSAs under the campaign name of "Drinking And Driving Wrecks Lives", that were around from the late 80s up to about 1995. Here's a compilation of them, featuring the best known ones titled "Kathy Can't Sleep", "Eyes" and "One More Dave". Like before, for any disturbing or unsettling PSAs, viewer discretion is advised.


Now, you may be thinking that PSAs are all doom and gloom about society and its problems, not really. Some can really put a smile on your face like these compliation of ads from Latvian Railways. Claymation + trains = greatness (well, probably for the likes of @ Kyng anyway ). No need to worry about the language barrier though because most of it is just incoherent mumbling, as with any other cartoon/claymation shows.


The last one in the above video really cracked me up though

[Kyng]

No need to worry about the language barrier though because most of it is just incoherent mumbling

Well, I'm sure @ Nilla can translate for us next time she gets drunk .

But, yeah, that last one cracked me up too . The physics were, well, questionable - but it was amusing!

[Deleted User 8]

To bring this thread up again, let's move on to one particular subject that if I could, would campaign against... domestic abuse and violence against women. PSAs to do with them are so disturbing/alarming in their own ways, they aren't suited to be posted here (because who would want to see an innocent woman/girl getting beaten, by some ****hole boyfriend or whatever?). However, there are few aversions on the subject such as this one, from all the way from Georgia:


And another, but on a more lighthearted note, where even children know it isn't right to hit a girl.


May be Italy's best PSA ever, I should say

[Deleted User 8]

Bumping this again with... a different kind of PSAs. Bad ones this time. Whether they fail to get the message across or just plain suck. Here's some examples but you'll probably want to headdesk in any of them (even you @ Jarkko).

First, is this one. Might have to be one of the most lifeless PSAs I've ever seen.


Second, coming from Brazil, where urinating in the shower is supposely would waste less water from a toilet flush. I mean, what? Would anybody ever think of doing it? Certainly not me...


And now, time for perhaps the worst PSA of all... from Mexico. Just watch, and feel your eyes gradually bleed from how awful it is, not just the shoddy CGI work.


It's not just that though... this was aimed at pre-schoolers. I mean, why would they want to know about drugs? I know some other bad ones but those are enough. I can tell you there's one from Dunkelziffer where it has a really disgusting metaphor to describe sexual abuse and, let's not forget every one from PETA, especially the infamous "Silent Scream". I'll just leave it at that.

However, because I'm a kind spirit and don't wish for people to suffer from bad or disturbing things I post here, here's another hilarious one, to make you better better after all this


(but I still think the farting/smoking one's the best)