Unlike traditional commercials, Public Service Advertisements (PSA) are primarily designed to inform and educate rather than sell a product or service. The goal of a PSA is not to make a big sale, but rather to change public opinion and raise awareness for a problem. However, sometimes money is solicited, although usually not for profit.
As long as there have been advertisements, there have been ads for charitable causes, government issues (including war), politics, religion and health & safety issues. A typical PSA will be for the latter, with topics including:
Obesity
Smoking
Fitness
Education
Gambling
Alcoholism
Safe Sex
PSAs can be seen anywhere traditional ads are seen, including television and radio, outdoor, online, direct mail and in print. Due to the nature of the ads, many insertions are provided at a discount.
The leading producer of these PSAs in America today is The Ad Council. Initially called the War Advertising Council, it is responsible for the content and frequency of the ads that air. At one point, broadcast stations were obligated to provide this advertising space free of charge, but that was ended when deregulation was introduced in the 80s.
However, arguably the most well known and controversial PSAs of the last decade have come not from The Ad Council, but from Truth (masterminded by CP&B). Their guerrilla-style ads and controversial street demonstrations have cut through the clutter to create a powerful message about the dangers of smoking.
Propaganda also comes under the guise of PSA, and although the word has a very negative term these days, it really did start out as neutral information. It could be argued that the Rock The Vote campaign was a form of propaganda, as many of the artists involved were democrats. The real propaganda though, in the negative sense, is seen not on American airwaves but in places where there is, or was, a fascist dictator in power. The PSAs put out by Hitler and Goebbels leading up to, and including, the 2nd World War, were masterful pieces of misinformation and mind control. Kim Jong-il is keeping that tradition alive, filling the North Korean airwaves, streets and printed materials with pure works of political fiction.
Although PSAs often get confused with Public Relations, there is a significant difference between the two. While PR can be used to help spread the word about non-profits, PR is widely used by every other form of commercial advertising.
