The selected Public Service Announcement (PSA) on blood donation would be applicable under conditions of man-made or natural ‘time-limited’ emergency or disaster, but it’s effectiveness in inciting a positive response would be limited. On one hand, the PSA uses a subtle language that incites the reader to respond positively to the ad. The line, ‘every 2 seconds somewhere in the world there is a need for blood transfusion’ helps the reader to grasp quickly why blood donation is necessary to save human lives. However, the PSA does not stress on the urgency of blood donation in time-limited disasters and emergencies since it does not focus much on disasters. Instead, the listed situations for blood donation are everyday medical needs such as cancer treatment, surgeries and organ transplants. In this case, the selected PSA would be more appropriate in long-term blood donation campaigns and not for time-limited emergencies.
In order to make the PSA more effective in time-limited disaster or emergency situations, the content should be altered to focus more on both man-made and natural disasters such as car accidents, industrial accidents, earthquakes, terrorist attacks and other unexpected occurrences that demand blood transfusion. The imagery used should also be adjusted to evoke the viewer’s emotions. The slogan, ‘give blood, save life’ is quite effective but if marginally graphic images of accident victims or disasters could be added, maximum effectiveness in eliciting a positive response can be achieved.
The emotive response to the selected PSA is to respond positively and donate blood to save someone’s life and uses a language that stirs the reader’s emotions (Understand Media, 2006). The statements, ‘15 minutes to save someone’s life’ and ‘do not hesitate to donate blood’ evoke an emotional response that incites the reader to action.
The blood donation PSA would indeed have impacted me personally to donate blood since it focuses on the importance of donating blood to save human life, and also indicates that the gesture is not time-consuming nor life threatening to myself. After all, it only takes 15 minutes to donate blood and impact someone else’s life positively.
The statements used in the PSA such as ‘every 2 seconds somewhere in the world there is a need for blood transfusion’ and ‘do not hesitate to donate blood’ are very direct, and leave very little to debate on in terms of what is required to impact someone’s life. The statements and slogans that focus on the need to save a life while the listing of day to day life-threatening situations that require blood transfusion are enough motivation to influence one’s decision to donate blood.
References:
Goodwill, B. (2016). Public Service Advertising - Background and Future. Psaresearch.com. Retrieved 3 February 2016, from http://www.psaresearch.com/bib9830.html
Understand Media. (2006). Writing Public Service Announcements. Understandmedia.com. Retrieved 2 February 2016, from http://www.understandmedia.com/topics/media-production/106-writing-public-service-announcements
