TresSugar

Flashback: What If You Had to Ask Permission to Get Married?

TresSugar — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 02:00:00 -0700

Sometimes empathy is the most powerful way of moving civil rights forward, which is why this PSA from 2005 is so effective. It depicts what it must feel like for gay people who are barred from legally marrying by showing a man walking from house to house asking strangers if can have his girlfriend's hand in marriage. Wow. (As of today, five states - New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Iowa - have made gay marriage legal.)

The Shelter Pet Project Gives Images a Makeover

PetSugar — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:30:01 -0700

It's a sad fact we know to be true, but pets in shelters are often overlooked. Not only are there preconceived notions about these animals, but the reality is that some people just don't check out the lonely furballs in these locations. In order to draw attention to their plight, the Shelter Pet Project created some clever PSAs. Don't worry, they're using humor to pull on your heartstrings.

See one more video - with a smooshy Boston Terrier - when you read more.

Bus Shelters to Milwaukee Teens: Pregnancy Stinks

TresSugar — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 07:00:00 -0700

It’s back to school for teens all across the nation. In Milwaukee, they’re taking this opportunity to make bus shelters bear the awful truth to teenagers: teen pregnancy stinks. How exactly? By featuring the image of a pair of huge, feces-stained diapers that claim to be scratch and sniff.

Actually, it’s only teen pregnancy that stinks, as the fine print will tell you:

This doesn’t really stink. But the consequences of teen pregnancy sure do. And this is just part of the ugly mess you’d be getting yourself into. Get the facts at babycanwait.com.

I wonder if the people who get close enough to read the writing are disappointed they don't get to smell crap? If you want to see what it looks like up close, read more.

New York Warns: Don't Drink Yourself Fat

FitSugar — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 12:00:06 -0700

New York City is taking a bold stand against empty calories with its Don't Drink Yourself Fat ad campaign. Recognizing that liquid calories can be a diet saboteur, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is advising residents to avoid soda and other sugary beverages.

The campaign implicitly acknowledges that diet soda isn't necessarily healthier - just lower in calories - by recommending water, seltzer, or lowfat milk. The ads are pretty unappetizing, but I appreciate the message. Click on the gallery below and tell me what you think.

View 3 Photos ›

Ewww! Anti-Drinking PSA Works Hard to Gross Us Out

TresSugar — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:00:00 -0700

This Belgian anti-drinking PSA tells young people not to delude themselves into thinking that drinking too much is going to give them the night of their lives. Warning: it's gross. Don't say I didn't warn you!

PSAs as Music Videos: Good For Message, or the Band?

TresSugar — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 09:00:00 -0700

Stereogum says this antisex-trafficking PSA will do more for the band behind it, The Killers, than promote awareness of the crime. A collaboration between UNICEF, MTV EXIT (End Exploitation and Trafficking), and the US Agency for International Development, the video began airing yesterday on MTV stations around the world. Guess MTV does play videos!

Set to the track "Goodnight, Travel Well," off The Killers' Day and Age album, the video is the second in a series of PSA music videos. The first, set to Radiohead's "All I Need," was for human trafficking and child labor. It maintained a clear message throughout by juxtaposing two boys' days - one going to school and coming home and the other working in a factory. The less-obvious "Goodnight, Travel Well," shows a young woman go from excited to reticent on a date several times until we see she's just returned from her forced-labor job as a sex worker. Check it out and tells us what you think. Effective or not?

Très Bizarre: Japanese Company Cares About Global Warming

TresSugar — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 01:00:00 -0700

How do they express this? By featuring a young girl shaving a hot bear in the forest in places he can't reach. If you shave a bear in the forest and no one's around. . .oh, nevermind.

PSA From a Vagina's Point of View

TresSugar — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:00:00 -0700

Time was, vagina was a word you didn't hear often, unlike the word penis. (Where did this come from - vagina phobia? Dislike of the actual word vagina?)

Now, vaginas are having monologues, ads imagine boys having vaginas, and in this PSA for cervical cancer, a vagina has what film theorists call a "point of view." In film theory parlance, anything you see on the screen comes from one character's point of view, unless it's an omniscient perspective. In this PSA for Cervical Cancer Awareness Week, we see a vagina's POV during the dreaded but necessary pelvic exam. What's next? A feature length film on the adventures of Virginia the Vagina?

PSA Asks: Would You Do This Sober?

TresSugar — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 07:00:00 -0700

UK public service announcements sure like to use their shock value as an educational tactic. First we were treated to the teen pregnancy prevention ad that had us watching a screaming schoolgirl give birth on a playground filled with students, and now we have a new one discouraging binge drinking by exposing a sober nation to the disgusting antics of their drunken selves.

In the ad, a bloke demonstrates vomiting, fighting, urinating in public, going home with strangers, and yelling insults at women. Watching him do this in the middle of the day, stone-cold sober, makes drunken behavior seem even more intolerable. The British government wants viewers to think the same and eventually realize that they shouldn't get so drunk that they do things they wouldn't otherwise. Let's just hope the viewers aren't at home boozing, since they'd probably find it funny or think it's some sort of check-list of things to do next time they're out.

To find out more about the UK's binge drinking problem, and how alcohol consumption differs between the sexes, read more.

One in four Brits drinks enough to put his or her health at risk. While sloshed ladies seem to get a lot of attention in the UK press, men make up two-thirds of the people admitted to the hospital for an alcohol related problem. The rate is similar across the pond, where American men are twice as likely as American women to binge drink.

Do you think ads like the one above can make people think twice about excessive alcohol consumption and its consequences?

Scared Sexless: Ad Shows Teen Giving Birth on Playground

TresSugar — Wed, 20 May 2009 07:00:00 -0700

A new advertisement, produced by the UK's National Health Service, realistically depicts a screaming schoolgirl giving birth on a playground amid a chaotic crowd of students. Before you watch, beware: the content is graphic.

Government officials behind the spot explain that pamphlets and posters have been ineffective in getting the message out about teen pregnancy prevention. At the end of the spot, a website for teens flashes across the screen. The site - called Hey Babe - actually has loads of useful information about sex, including advice on the HPV vaccination, contraception, questions of sexual orientation, and even abortions. If the shocking commercial can help tune kids into sex education, do you think the graphic imagery is worth it?