I hear the following Ad Counsel psa several times a week on my prefered radio stations.

Be ready psa

Here is a link to a webpage full of them, i pulled the above link from it.
ready.gov

This one always gets to me. Watching it again now, I think I have something stuck in my eye.

I just know exactly what you mean. Watching this reminds me of May 16, 1992.

Jeanette Isabelle

Florida has "Get a plan" PSAs and there is/was "Get a plan" month.

There are several related web sites ie:
http://www.floridadisaster.org/

http://www.historiccity.com/2010/staugustine/news/florida/florida-preparedness-month-get-a-plan-5143

http://www.doh.state.fl.us/chdHernando/webpages/php/phpmain.html

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.

I absolutely agree.

However, there are no rules without exception. I want to give you a case where exactly this kind of PSA actually has worked quite well:



The Norwegian mountain code is exactly that - a "to do" list of 9 bullet points, repeated each easter because a lot of people will then swarm into the mountains. At TV, one or more of those bullet points is enacted by a single TSA announcement that nails the point home. I've litterary grown up with that on the radio, in the papers and on TV...

More about the mountain code here: http://forums.equipped.org/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=190824


Why does it work? I think because it adresses a specific activity in a specific environment: Skiing in the high mountains. Therefore, this bullet list is clear and consice enough to be your "rifle shots through the clutter".

I can't recall any PSAs with that "mountain code." Where have you heard these things? You got a link to any of them?

I'm not sure if a "survival" PSA would be well received, but a "preparedness" PSA at the beginning of hurricane season focused on Hurricane preparedness and survival might be better. Use that medium to start getting people in a survival mindset thinking "be prepared" and get them moving in the right direction, stockpiling critical items and understanding that help may take time.

An Earthquake Preparedness PSA might be useful in earthquake prone areas like California and along the Madrid fault in the Midwest. There might already be one, but I don't recall seeing it.

Some will take the lessons further; for some watching cartoons or video games would be an upper limit.

I think longer and more complex PSAs can work in situations where people are likely to be paying closer attention. Hurricane prep in the hurricane belt during hurricane season is a good example. When I discussed it before, I was talking about PSAs directed at general audiences, with no particular news peg. It's not that people are stupid or lazy, it's that people are busy. If they don't have a specific and immediate reason to pay attention right now, it's unrealistic to hit them with anything other than something very simple and concrete.

The Los Angeles Public Radio station (KCET) prepared and has periodically aired an hour long show on earthquake preparedness and response. It has aired several times in the last decade. I am positive it has benefited oh... 1% of the population.