Advertising Analysis essay
Today Public Service Announcement (PSA) is one of the most effective and appropriate advertising tools used to accomplish the established goals. The PSAs promote various activities aimed at improving social life. According to Paul L. Jones, “government sponsored public service announcement (PSA) campaigns are prepackaged messages generally placed for free through various media to promote designated government activities, programs or services” (3). As a rule, the PSAs are placed for free, but in some cases the PSA campaigns may require some financial obligations. The most common topics chosen for PSA campaigns are health and safety issues, including emergency preparedness tips, disease prevention methods, etc. There are three types of PSA: long PSAs, which usually run 60 seconds, average PSAs – 30 seconds and very short PSAs – 10 seconds. The major goal of a typical PSA campaign is to promote public awareness regarding the proper information sources or educational sessions on a specific issue of public concern, e.g. obesity, smoking, gambling, etc. (Jones 23).
The PSA that will be analyzed in this paper is a TV PSA “Prevent Asthma Symptoms” that was produced by Salo Productions for The Asthma & Allergy Foundation and GlaxoSmithKline. This PSA is effective as it provides massive opportunities to the target audience aimed at enhancing public health.
- Advertising Analysis
The PSA “Prevent Asthma Symptoms” tells about the major causes of asthma. Actually, there are two causes of asthma symptoms that should be taken into consideration by everyone who has breathing problems – airway constriction and inflammation. There are several types of media used for this PSA campaign, including the Internet, radio and television. This PSA was aired on CNBC, MSNBC and the USA Network during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Over 40 million viewers have watched this PSA.
The PSA “Prevent Asthma Symptoms” is a long one as it runs 60 seconds. The public service announcement is composed of 16 lines of text, which are read at average speed. The words for this PSA text have been chosen carefully. Thus, the text of the PSA maintains the required message’s integrity. Because of the existing time limit (60 seconds), the PSA is focused on the key idea – to introduce the major causes of asthma in the brief, developing the so-called guide to direction aimed at improving public health.
Asthma symptoms can have a negative impact on the overall health of an individual. The PSA says: “asthma symptoms can really slow you down”. There are two major causes of asthma symptoms: airway constriction and inflammation. Airway constriction is felt by individuals, while inflammation may not be felt. The PSA is aimed at explaining people that asthma can be treated effectively if a person is ready to treat both airway constriction and inflammation. The PSA helps the public to pay due attention to the medicine they use to prevent asthma. As a rule, a medicine helps to prevent only one symptom, “it can make asthma feel like an uphill battle.” The PSA recommends managing asthma by treating both major causes of asthma symptoms. Thus, the PSA explains the public how to prevent both symptoms in order to make a “smoother ride”.
- Evaluation of the PSA’s work on the audience
The PSA “Prevent Asthma Symptoms” effectively works on the audience, providing much important information on asthma symptoms. The PSA addresses the target audience and uses the proper methods to communicate the desired message to the audience.
- The target audience the text is trying to address
The target audience ranges from the general public to the participants of specific activities or programs, such and bike riders, swimmers, runners, basket-ball players, etc. The statistics on asthma is disappointing. According to American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology (2014),“the number of people with asthma continues to grow” (Asthma Statistics). This fact means that many Americans face serious health problems that involve asthma symptoms. The more accurate statistical data includes “one in 12 people (about 25 million, or 8% of the U.S. population) had asthma in 2009, compared with 1 in 14 (about 20 million, or 7%) in 2001 (Asthma Statistics). People with asthma experience asthma attacks on a regular basis. Many children with asthma are physically unable to play games and go in for sport. The statistical data show that in 2007, “185 children and 3,262 adults died from asthma” (Asthma Statistics).
- The key methods used to communicate the desired message to the audience
The key methods used to communicate the desired message to the audience include getting attention by story, background music and the speaker’s voice. Thus, the PSA makers use technical methods and common attention getting hooks to communicate the desired information to the target audience. A young girl and her boy-friend riding a bike, wide road and high speed riding create positive emotions. The audience has a positive visual experience. Sport is a symbol of good health. The PSA makers decided to use sport activity in order to instil confidence in people with asthma. The PSA “Prevent Asthma Symptoms” effectively reaches the audience, holds the attention of the audience and delivers the key message. The use of story in the PSA, the appropriate music and the speaker’s voice guarantee successful perception.
- Evaluation of the effectiveness of the approach
The PSA “Prevent Asthma Symptoms” addresses the audience’s interests. The text of the PSA is written concisely to explain the key message appropriately. The PSA accomplishes its goals because it provides a clear picture of the major asthma symptoms and helps people with asthma to prevent the major cause of asthma symptoms. In general, the approach used by the PSA makers is effective because the PSA “Prevent Asthma Symptoms” is constructed in the form of a believable story. A young girl riding a bike experiences some symptoms of asthma. Eventually, she feels recovered when both symptoms are prevented by means of external support. The speaker’s voice and background music trigger the audience’s attention.
- Conclusion
Thus, the PSA “Prevent Asthma Symptoms” provide important information for millions of people with asthma. The PSA creates positive mood, encouraging people with asthma to find the proper solutions to the existing health problems. The design of the PSA is successful. The story is easy to interpret; the background music and the speaker’s voice are pleasant to hear. There is a close relationship between visual elements, written material and the speaker’s message. Actually, the theme of the PSA is clearly discussed through effective story and positive atmosphere generated by the key characters: a young girl and her boy-friend riding a bike.
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