Interesting or unusual Public Service Announcements*

Yul Brynner’s powerful anti-smoking ad.


The video cuts off his last line, ‘I’m convinced of that.’
It certainly sounds like Orson Welles doing the introduction. Can anybody confirm that?

 

first one I thought of

 

It's almost as if Bertolt Brecht had a hand in this jingle about VD. It's very "catchy".

 

Frank Sinatra and Jerry Mathers for Christmas Seals 1954

 

As I recall, this mega-crossover of Saturday morning cartoon characters aired on all the networks simultaneously to deliver its subtle anti-drug warning.

 

Ah, yes! Just seeing all these different characters in the same special (and sometimes sharing scenes together) was kind of amazing.

 

This wasn't aired on TV, but it was a PSA filmstrip shown mostly to kids in schools.

Patch The Pony says "Nay, Nay! From Strangers Stay Away!"



It was made in the 60's and still used into the 80's.

 

Came here to put in that one, but you beat me to it. It always left me curious and confused.

 

"If attack is imminent, you will hear the attack sound, like this."

 

[QUOTE="halfjapanese, post: 18914381, member: 10438][/QUOTE]
Ahh! This brings back such great memories. I had a one month detail to Washington, DC in the mid-1980's to work on promotion for President Reagan's "Take Pride in America" (TPIA) public lands program. I was working for the USDA Forest Service, but got to work with several other agencies on this program, including the EPA and National Park Service. My job was to design a slide program and promotional TPIA posters, bumper stickers, etc.

I wasn't involved in the celebrity recruiting, but I was aware that they specifically sought out "tough guys" and were taking a tough guy approach in their TV and radio public service announcements. In addition to Clint Eastwood, there were also PSAs by Lou Gossett Jr. and Charles Bronson. Oh, and the Oak Ridge Boys (not tough guys!) volunteered to do a song to be the theme song for TPIA.

I got called back to Wash. D.C. a few years later to an awards dinner and ceremony because of the work I had done on this program. By this time, George Bush No. 1, was president and presented awards to Clint and the Oak Ridge Boys. My award was presented at a lessser venue by an Under-Secretary of Agriculture...but at least I got to see the President, Clint and the Oaks up close!

Here's Lou Gossett's video:

 

And Charles Bronson's video:

 

And Eastwood and Gossett meeting President Reagan to kick off the Take Pride in America/public lands campaign:
(Bronson couldn't make the kick off)

 

Oh, man, that one is an all-time classic. Given that this is a music forum, everyone here owes it to themselves to at least check out the theme song at the beginning. First-class earworm material, once heard, never forgotten.

The first time I ever saw it, it was being screened on 16mm film by the guy who posted the video to YouTube. There was a pretty decent-sized crowd in attendance, and I don't think many of those present had ever seen it before either. It got a raucous reception, with some folks practically rolling on the floor.

 

That riff in the theme song sounds like it was played by a three finger guitarist (not Django).

 

I don’t remember the exact details, but there was one where Hush Little Baby (?) was being played on a music box, a camera was flashing, and pictures of bad people were shown (Mugshots I believe, but might be wrong about that).