I'm a bit on the skeptical side.
It's not any hostility to PSAs or to survival skills, but rather to the efficacy of PSAs when it comes to survival. The topic of survival is big, but an effective PSA says offers targets
one problem that a lot of people can relate to. It offers
one solution that people can remember. Examples:
- Quit smoking
- Don't drink and drive
- Drive defensively
- Wear a seatbelt
- Call the gas company before digging
- Look both ways before crossing the street
- Don't take candy from strangers
What would
one problem would a survival PSA focus on? What
one concrete action would it urge? I've heard the ones about "Have a Plan," but all they really do is jack me up. Have a plan for what? What do I do? I wind up making a mental note to do that someday. Ah, I am supposed to go to some website. Ready.gov. Which, I must say, is pretty good. I have to hand it to them. They don't bury you under a ton of stuff. It makes sense. But the ads? Too oblique, too busy. And the whole process takes too many steps for this to go into the PSA hall of fame.
I still remember the defensive driving ads. To this day, I sometimes catch myself saying "Dead Right." The ad showed some guy in a car who had the right of way and didn't look to make sure. Sure enough, some dork comes speeding through the stop sign and the guy who had the right of way dies. The punchline said something, "He was right -- dead right." Simple, effective, and very credible because just about everyone who has driven a car gets the point and agrees with it.
Effective PSAs are rifle shots that cut through the clutter. A "survival" PSA? I'm doubtful, because I don't think it'd be clear enough. I'm having a tough time coming up with the unifying thread, and (especially) the
single action. Mere "awareness," that shiny rainbow hovering over every do-gooder's blessed head, is not enough. A PSA has to tell me what I can do about it, or you just might wind up pissing me off. "Have a plan" isn't bad, but it might be a little too theoretical. Too easily put off for a later day. I can say this much: They'd better not run PSAs that have any kind of "to do" list. That would make the survival community all warm and fuzzy, but wouldn't accomplish anything.