Public Service Announcements Addressing Important Issues

       If you are familiar with television, then it is likely you have encountered a few public service announcements over the years. P.S.A's are usually about social issues such as drug abuse, global warming, energy conservation, and many other topics plaguing society.  These media campaigns are usually designed to confront the issue head on and in a manner that informs the public within 30 seconds to one minute. 
      Public Service Announcement's have had its place in society since the early forties trying to persuade the public into changing or reinforcing their beliefs about a certain topic.Sometimes it is war other times it is drug use, the point of the public service announcement is to make problems of a marginalized community known to the public, such as prisoners or drug addicts. Since there is wide array of public service announcements we could focus on we will take a look at drug abstinence ads as a focal point in explaining public service announcements.
    Since the mid to late nineties meth addiction has become a problem that communities all over the world, particularly in the United States. The Meth Project started in 2005 and has since put out graphic ads to put a spotlight on the problem of meth addiction.

   This ad put out by The Meth Project is exceptionally graphic and is meant to really grab the audiences attention. It features a young girl on the floor looking strung out with a man on top of her. The text reads "!5 Bucks for Sex isn't Normal. But on Meth it is." This ad is particularly graphic because this problem is a growing national concern and it puts the realities of a drug addicts life into a form of visual communication.
While public service announcements are sometimes irritating and graphic (especially when you are watching your favorite show or reading your favorite magazine) they do serve their purpose in society. Without public service announcements certain topics could become unrecognized and worse and effect a higher number of people.