Each PSA commercial has its apparent strengths, such as a strong message, the involvement of diverse groups of people, and relatable situations. For example, the PSA ‘Listen’ uses certain feelings that manipulators use to lure naïve people into the trap of narcotics, such as judgment, understanding, realization, and hopelessness. This commercial effectively uses the reverse transition in combination with music to convey the message.
Moreover, it uncovers the thought process of a drug abuser, making it easier for someone with a similar issue to relate. On the other hand, ‘All American Girl’ uses the transition technique in the appearance to make the message more understandable, which, combined with the music, is the strong side of the PSA. ‘Common Enemy’ makes the accent on the children involved and underlines that everyone, even the youngest ones, is vulnerable to substances. ‘Sleepover’ presents a common situation in the kitchen, making the PSA relatable and mundane, which better conveys the message. Moreover, the last of the commercials showcase how the person lost everything, making the drastic transition. Therefore, the strong sides of each commercial were in their relatability and transition.
However, the commercial had some apparent weaknesses, such as the appearance of the actors. For example, in the ‘Listen,’ addicts are beautiful, with almost no signs of addiction except the ‘behavior’, which romanticizes the disorder since it plants the idea that addicts are pretty people with a tremendous amount of self-awareness. ‘All American girl’ has a similar issue since the girl portrayed in the commercial had almost no signs of addiction and stayed good-looking, but with some more makeup, which can be a harmful thought to plant into the viewer’s head. ‘Common Enemy’ aims for healthy households, where children are respected and loved.
However, the real picture suggests that many addicts come from addicted families or abusive households. The same issue is with the ‘Sleepover’ PSA; it portrays excellent understanding between parent and the child, which is sometimes apart from reality. ‘Substance abuse PSA’, again, showcases a young and perspective addict with the ideal beauty even when he is supposedly drugged. Therefore, the weak sides of these commercials are the lack of realism and the wrong target audience.
My target audience for the PSA commercial would be adolescents since they are usually the ones who are easily influenced into engaging in substance abuse. The substance of choice would be heroin because it is the most dangerous addiction among the United States adolescents. I would imagine this commercial to be the representation of the famous fairytale ‘Alice in Wonderland. There would be two similar actresses within the commercial: one is healthy-looking, maybe a bit chubby, and the other one is almost anorexic with the scars on her arms, unhealthy skin, split hair, and an addicted look. The message of the commercial would be ‘You are the master of your fate.
One of the girls would be following the ‘bright path’, choosing a career, their relationship, clothes, and going into the pretty woods. The same one would choose the ‘dark path’, and she would be showcased in the violent world of hallucinations, narcotics, and abuse, and she would see her ‘withering’ body on the ground at the end of the road. Then, the camera will show the reverse version of the path, where the two girls become one, and the message will appear ‘You are the master of your fate. I would also add the statistics of heroin-related deaths in the United States, which would empower the message further. Furthermore, the statistics would be presented by the narrator while the audience would look at the girls’ paths.