Public Service Advertising and Propaganda

95 Pages·2016·6.17 MB·English

Public Service Advertising and Propaganda
William M. O'Barr
Advertising & Society Review, Volume 13, Issue 2, 2012, (Article)
Published by Advertising Educational Foundation
For additional information about this article
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/484935
No institutional affiliation (15 Nov 2018 15:23 GMT)
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Public Service Advertising and Propaganda
William M. O'Barr
1. Introduction
The need to mobilize the public to take action for the good of the community is as old as
governance itself. In other times and places, different techniques were used—rams' horns, town
criers, church bells, and even word of mouth. In modern times, the mass media provide an
important vehicle for calling on citizens to act in their best interests and those of society. Many
such messages are delivered as public service advertisements (PSAs). Smokey Bear warns about
forest fires. Crime Dog McGruff asks us to "take a bite out of crime." A Native American pleads
with us to take care of the environment. What these—and other—public service campaigns have
in common is that they use the techniques developed for the promotion of commercial products
for a purpose other than selling products and services. The story of how that came about is an
important part of the history of advertising in America.
This unit also examines public service advertising in several other countries. It also
compares public service advertisements with publicity, public relations, and propaganda.
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Fig. 1. Posting Wartime PSAs in Times Square in 1917 1
2. The Beginnings of Public Service Advertising
Shortly after Congress declared war in 1917, President Woodrow Wilson established the
Committee on Public Information which played a major role in convincing the public to support
the war effort. George Creel, a Kansas City journalist whom Wilson appointed to chair the
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Committee, described its mission as coordinating "[n]ot propaganda as the Germans defined it,
but propaganda in the true sense of the word, meaning the ‘propagation of faith.’"2
With the help of people drawn from the advertising industry, the Committee created
several major campaigns. Among them were:
• The War Savings Stamps drive that urged the public to "save the thoughtless dollars"
that were being wasted through self-indulgence while soldiers sacrificed themselves on the
battlefields of war.
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Fig. 2. This Public Service Advertisement Urged Americans to Buy War Savings Stamps3
• The Red Cross campaign that asked citizens to join the organization, which was
personified in the ads in a Madonna-like image entitled the "Greatest Mother in the World."
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Fig. 3. A Well-Known Public Service Ad from World War I4
• The Spies and Lies campaign that urged the public to suppress groundless rumors and
gossip.

Fig. 4. This Campaign Called on the American Public in Yet Another Way5
• The Selective Service campaign that supported draft registration.
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Fig. 5. This Famous Poster Recruited Men for the Army6
• The Kill Every Rat campaign that urged the extinction of grain-eating vermin.
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