This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
Ununnilium: I'd recommend a move to the name Public Safety Announcements, not because I favor Americanisms over Britishisms, but because it supports the wider category of ones that aren't government-sponsored.
Silent Hunter: The ads in the UK also cover things like taxes and crime.
Seth: We call them Public Safety Announcements as well so no complaints here (We actually use both names - But Government Information Adverts also applies to Tax reminders and "Please regester to vote ads")
Ununnilium: Well, there's also, say, the "The More You Know" things that ABC does.
Seth: I thought that was Gi Joe
Ununnilium: Nah, that's And Knowing Is Half the Battle. "The More You Know" were random bits where celebrities would point out interesting facts or encourage kids to read, to jack up the "educational" content of the program.
Morgan Wick: Weren't they done by NBC, not ABC?
Ununnilium: Possibly.
Scifantasy: They were. (Which explains why Scrubs spoofed them...NBC show and all.)
Anonymous Mc Cartneyfan: I agree with Ununnilium, though it's likely too late to do anything about it. I tend to think of them as Public Service Announcements (PSAs for short), and, in America at least, many of them are not directly from the government. I tend to count School House Rock as PSAs. And all Stealth Cigarette Ads are PSAs: the cigarette corps. are required to run anti-smoking PSAs, and that's how they do it. You think that would happen if the government ran them directly?
fleb: Yeah, Public Service Announcement is just a redirect right now, but a rename is feasible.
Mister Six: This whole thing, including adult-targeted ads, is covered in Scare 'Em Straight. Stuck it on the Cut List.
Ununnilium: Took it off the Cut List. It's two different things; Scare 'Em Straight is concerned with any educational thing that pushes its message through disturbing imagery, whereas this is any message in place of a TV commercial that aims to raise awareness of something important for public health or safety or whatnot. A Government Information Advert can Scare 'Em Straight, but it doesn't have to, and things other than Government Information Adverts can Scare 'Em Straight as well. (Plus, if we were merging, I'd merge to here.)
Mister Six: Okay, although I disagree about the merging point.
Licky Lindsay: don't forget the PSA's reminding American boys to register for selective service as soon as they turn 18. ("selective service is not a draft..")
Thunder Phoenix: As an aside, on overseas military bases (like the one I'm on), the commercials on the military-run networks are completely subsumed by these. It's pretty weird.
T Servo 2049: I know there are probably several kids-and-guns-don't-mix PS As out there, but does anybody remember a specific one where two kids find a gun, and the screen goes white as we hear a gunshot sound? I think it was from some time in the 90s, but I remember it being particularly creepy...
Air Of Mystery: I don't think the one about drowning was scary. The sheer fact that the voiceover said "But I'll be back" made it way too tropey to be scary.
Adam850: This is totally natter: "
- It appears not to be compulsory still in the UK to wear a helmet on a bicycle, David Cameron probably only wearing one (and looking stupid in the process) because he didn't want criticism for not wearing one.
- It's a controversial subject, not least because no research has actually shown they improve safety. (This troper quit wearing one after the realisation that it made an accident more likely, and was likely to just splatter even with one)
- This troper admits the logic, but after getting knocked off and hitting the road surface very hard with her (helmeted) head, is going to keep wearing one, thanks.
- This troper personally knows at least three people who would have died if they hadn't worn their helmets. Two of the helmets were split straight down the middle and the other one had a piece broken off right over the temple area. One hit their head on a telephone pole. I'd have wanted to wear a helmet, too."
- It appears not to be compulsory still in the UK to wear a helmet on a bicycle, David Cameron probably only wearing one (and looking stupid in the process) because he didn't want criticism for not wearing one.
"As opposed to temporary brain damage?" in the comment on the Irish PSA: yes. Sometimes people do get better.
