Top 10 Best PSAs of All Time
#10: Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires
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Mascots have always been a central part of an effective PSA, and our first entry is no different. Smokey the Bear actually has a history dating back to the late forties, and his message has changed slightly over the years. Those of a certain age will remember the classic line from Smokey about how "Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires," but the slogan was actually changed to "Only You Can Prevent Wildfires" in 2001. This was so there wasn't any confusion about actual, legitimate campfires and the dangerous kind that are spread by careless forest visitors.
#9: Help Take a Bite Out of Crime
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It's never too late to teach kids about being safe and how to prevent crime in their local neighborhoods. McGruff the Crime Dog was an animated mascot for the National Crime Prevention Council, and it was his job to help educate everyone via a series of memorable PSAs that debuted in the early eighties. McGruff helped out families with simple lessons about keeping doors locked or making sure you were aware of your surroundings. In an era where still so much of the youth were "latchkey kids," left at home alone while their parents were at work, simple vignettes like these were very important.
#8: ...And Knowing Is Half the Battle
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Let's face it: kids are impressionable, but this doesn't always have to be a bad thing. A good example of this is when you can use recognizable and trusted heroes to pass along a positive message. Captain America taught kids the importance of conserving energy, Superman fought against teen smoking, and Real American Heroes of G.I. Joe? Well, they taught us about a lot of things. The "Knowing is Half the Battle" segments would air at the end of each episode from the original eighties cartoon series, and would feature a member of the Joe team with an important message for kids. These could range from what to do if a fire breaks out, to administering proper CPR. Yooooo Joe!
#7: Back-to-School Essentials
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Not every PSA is a slice of hokey nostalgia from a bygone era. Some are terrifying, real and just as relevant today. The "Back to School Essentials" PSA from Sandy Hook Promise was just that, a gut-punch Public Service Announcement that starts out innocuously enough, with kids bragging about their new back to school gear. It quickly becomes apparent that something's wrong, however, as the background action reveals that an active shooter has entered the school. The PSA then gets grimly real, some might even say exploitative, about the real concerns kids face every day against the threat of gun violence. It makes for extremely difficult viewing.
#6: I Learned It by Watching You
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The United States' "War on Drugs" is a policy that dates all the way back to the Nixon Administration of the early seventies, and it's still going on today. Anti-drug ads were all the rage back in the eighties, however, with this PSA serving as one of the most memorable examples. It's short and sweet, as a concerned father charges his son to explain where he got the drug paraphernalia found by his mother. The son makes a few excuses before admitting that he learned it from watching his father do drugs. The voiceover then explains "parents who use drugs have children who use drugs." Simple, direct and right to the point.
#5: Give a Hoot, Don't Pollute!
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We're not sure if the two ever met, but we'd sure love a world where Woodsy Owl and Smokey the Bear bro'd down in the forest....maybe met for a bite to eat? Anyway, the former was another mascot created during the early seventies to help promote awareness about keeping the forest safe. Woodsy's motto of "Give a Hoot, Don't Pollute!" was easy to remember, and tried to ensure that everyone pitched in and did their part to keep their national parks and forests clean from garbage and litter. It's a positive and friendly message that's certainly just as relevant today.
#4: You Can Learn a Lot from a Dummy
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Ok, so many of the PSA mascots here were memorable, but The Incredible Crash Test Dummies were perhaps the only ones to receive their own series of action figures, a video game and a televised animated special! Not bad for a couple of dummies, right? The duo's brief time in the spotlight came from a series of PSAs developed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, where two anthropomorphic (and talkative) crash dummies demonstrated the importance of wearing your safety belt. Vince and Larry, as they were named, would chit chat about this and that while going through some...well, pretty horrendous physical trauma. But, it was all in a day's work, as the pair would return time and time again for another round.
#3: Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk
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Alcohol and motor vehicles never mix, and we've known this probably since both of these things were invented, yet drunk driving continues to kill thousands every year. Maybe that’s why this series of very memorable PSAs gained prominence throughout the eighties and nineties. The campaign was called "Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk," and the corresponding PSAs would take tones that were at times subtle, such as two glasses crashing together, to others that really tugged at the heartstrings, usually featuring real life footage of those lost to drunk driving accidents. Still others would go full scare tactic, such as the "Drunk Driving Can Kill a Friendship" campaign, complete with skeletons in the back seat.
#2: Keep America Beautiful
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It's one of the most memorable PSAs ever made, as well as one with one of the most controversial histories. Part of tThis is due to its colloquial title of "The Crying Indian." However, the nonprofit responsible for its creation, Keep America Beautiful, has been called into question, with some alleging it actually aided corporations avoid responsibility for pollution. However, there's no denying the impact this PSA made when it first debuted on Earth Day 1971, with Italian actor Iron Eyes Cody playing a Native American who sheds a tear when viewing people's careless littering and pollution. Cultural insensitivity aside, the PSA was largely successful in promoting its underlying message, with a much brighter light being shined on environmental issues in the wake of its popularity. It's just definitely...of its time." Before we name our number one pick, here are some honorable mentions Pee-Wee Herman Crack Commercial It's Not Cool, Kids Droids Don't Smoke A Saturday Morning Staple Alleyway Snake Nightmare Fuel at Its Finest The Meth Project These Scare Tactics Sure Worked! Demand a Plan Ending Gun Violence
#1: This Is Your Brain on Drugs
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Some PSAs, like our last entry, are definitely products of their time, but the best ones transcend their time, with their relevance evolving to the modern day. This is definitely the story of our number one pick, as the "This Is Your Brain on Drugs" campaign launched successful and memorable variations of its ads in three different decades. The 1987 version was the iconic egg and frying pan PSA with voiceover, while the 1997 version had Rachael Leigh Cook swinging for the fences with her frying pan. Finally, a 2016 update revealed that, yeah, actually kids DID have a lot questions about drugs, and it was their parents job to be ready with some answers.
