A Reflection on the Importance of PSA’s in a Society

Why PSA’s are Important

According to the Ad Council’s website, a PSA is defined as an ‘impactful public service engagement campaign that raises awareness, inspires action and changes lives.’ PSA’s have the power to influence people to become involved in a particular issue that helps them and their community. Not only that but PSA’s have an authentic and impactful experience on their audience by targeting emotions about critical social issues that resonate with people and invite them to spark change.

PSA’s afford people the opportunity to become more educated and learn more about a particular topic that will bring people together to have a common goal of mitigating that issue and creating more social goodness.

Picture Provided By: Ad Council

Examples of Positive Changes From PSA’S

• Autism Awareness

Ad Council used an emotional story chronicling Bridget’s experience with autism and how her family continues to find joy and inspiration from her each day. Since the release of the PSA, there has been more autism awareness and focus on helping families navigate their lives and finding the best support for their children.

• California Wildfires & Coming Together

This PSA helped bridge the gap between people of all different backgrounds in sad times. More importantly, the PSA stressed how people should come together, regardless of tragic times, because we have more in common with each other than we think. The PSA inspired people to come together and build more relationships.

• Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty

In 2015, Dove released a short PSA about women embracing their beauty and ignoring unrealistic societal norms of beauty. The PSA demonstrated how photos of women are edited to display the ‘ideal’ or ‘perfect’ standard of beauty. Dove wanted to show women how to be at peace with their beauty and not cave into societal norms, which has sparked people to practice self-love and better their mental health.

Picture Provided By: Ad Council

Topics of PSA’s I am Interested In

Pet Shelter Adoption

• There is an overflow of stranded animals, and families need to advocate for them

• Saving an animal’s life from the street is a rewarding process and needs more attention

Ending Smoking/Vaping

• Although tobacco use has been reduced in recent years, it is still a massive issue among the youth

• Need to protect the influences of young impressionable minds, and advocate for people to practice better health habits

Seeing the Signs and Warnings of School Shootings

• School should be a place where children learn, not where they are put in harm

• Educating people to recognize the signs earlier can help prevent future school shootings

PSA Content For the Future

I will use the PSA type of content to advocate for important issues within the fashion and cosmetic field. I want to pursue a career in marketing, with fashion or cosmetics being the focus. Still, I am aware that this culture has toxic issues that negatively impact society. Specifically, I would like to create a PSA similar to Dove’s, where women learn to love their beauty and not compare it to others. I also would like to make PSA’s relating to gender inclusivity within the fashion world.