Tucker Bedard

Ms. Kp
50 Scariest PSAs
#39
Just Once
1. The audience is drawn to this attractive young girl, willing her not to try the
meth, especially once her little sister is shown in the room. The sequence of
events is clear to the audience before it even happens, they know that the
girl will become addicted. This is what keeps them watching, them hoping
that she will break the cycle and get clean.
2. The value decreases throughout the PSA with the colors getting darker and
more grays appearing. By the end, the bright colors of the first scene have
gone as she spirals into addiction. The repetition of just once shows that
meth isnt something that can be done just once, it is serious and no amount
of will power can stop its grasp on a person once they are addicted.
3. While the only text is at the very end it raises a very good point, What do
you know about Meth? This is effective because the answer for most people
would be not much. Most people are not experts on meth and this makes
them ask themselves the question rhetorically and wonder about meth. It
creates an influx of people visiting the website and educating themselves on
meth.
4. The slippery slope of meth use is demonstrated here, with the girl doing more
and more to get meth, starting with snorting it with friends and going all the
way to the extent of having sex just to get meth. Her addiction takes over
her life, and her appearance goes downhill with it as well. The scare factor is
evident when she begins engaging in risky behavior, and especially when her
sister is around it. The audience fears for the wellbeing of the sister and
hopes that she will not be influenced by her sister. Then, the scare climaxes
when the sister says she is going to try meth just once. This shows how
impressionable kids are and scares viewers that kids could be so influenced
to do such a hardcore drug.
5. This PSA is effective because it shows addiction from the beginning until the
end, with the older sister doing anything to get her meth. Then, it shows how
this effects those around her, as her little sister begins trying meth. She will
likely go through the same cycle as the older sister and end up just as
addicted as her. This shows the audience that even if someone believes they
do not have a problem, it can create a problem for someone else.
#36
Family Man
Workers safety
1. This PSA depicts a man who is working overtime in order to earn money to
take his family on vacation. This devotion to his family shows the audience
he is a good father, making him relatable as a role model to the audience. He
is immediately likable to the audience because of his devotion to his family

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and how hard he is working for them. This makes his sudden death from an
accident even more disturbing since the viewer had begun to develop a
personal attachment to the man.
The contrast of the flames and the explosion really stand out against the
drab, gray background, to emphasize their destructive power.
The text used at the end of the PSA truly stands out as a contrasting white
text on a black background. Since there is nothing else to look at on the
screen at this point, the eyes are drawn to the text, reading: There really are
no accidents. This makes the viewer realize that the mans death could
have been avoided by obeying safety regulations.
The main flashpoint of this PSA is scare tactic. This is obviously a Perfect
Storm situation, where many contributing factors result in a horrific death.
Had either the harness of the man or the tanks been checked, this
catastrophe could have been avoided. The death is made to appear so
gruesome with the man falling 4 stories after a very large explosion. The
gruesomeness of the death results in fear by the audience. The fact that he
is trying to save up to take his family on vacation is a sentimental appeal,
which makes the audience feel worse after he is killed in the accident. It
makes the death more tragic, since he seemed to be a good man who didnt
deserve to die. This makes him more relatable to the audience, and makes
the issue more real to them.
This PSA is effective because it makes the viewer like the man immediately
due to his devotion to his family, which makes his death even more tragic.
This results in the viewer having a stronger opinion on worker safety.

#22
Rodney On Heroin
1. The image of Rodney first shown in the PSA is of a very attractive man, which
draws the audience in. People in general are curious about attractive people,
and already the viewers are wondering about Rodney and who he is, what
happened to him. Then, once the transformation to Rodney on heroin is
shown, disbelief comes over the viewer, who continues watching to see
further transformations.
2. All of the images displayed are displayed upon a black background, and
usually have a white background in the actual picture creating a contrast, as
Rodneys life is ruined by heroin. The repetition of the attractive picture
constantly reminds us of how Rodney looked before heroin, and how much
the heroin actually changed his appearance and his life, especially shown by
the mugshots taken. Opposite that, a variety of pictures of Rodney on heroin
are shown, showing that it is never glamourous. Rodney looks progressively
worse in each picture while he is on heroin, reinforcing the idea that heroin is
bad and ruins lives.
3. The text at the end of the PSA shows Rodneys lifespan, which was only a
short 31 years. It can be assumed that he died from something heroin
related, due to his obvious excessive use of the drug. It makes it appear as
an obituary, causing the viewer to feel sorrow and pity for those who loved
Rodney. It is also the first time that Rodneys full name is used, Rodney

Harvey, which allows the viewer to feel closer to Rodney and feel more
sorrow.
4. This PSA uses an obvious scare tactic, showing that no matter how great you
look before doing drugs, or how successful you are, they will destroy you.
Rodney was a very attractive man, who was probably a model based on how
professional the repeated picture looks. By the end of the PSA he is no longer
even recognizable, so changed by his heroin addiction. He is no longer
worried about his appearance, and no longer is attractive to the viewer. He is
unclean passed out, unable to function due to his addiction. The sentimental
appeal affects the audience at the end of the PSA when the narrator tells
them This was my friend Rodney, showing that he has died, most likely
from his addiction. It is also evident when it is shown that he only lived 31
years, which most people would believe is too short. Finally, the slippery
slope of drug abuse is shown, as each picture of Rodney on heroin looks
worse as his addiction takes over his life.
5. This PSA is effective because it shows that drug abuse can destroy anyones
lives. Usually in anti-drug PSAs people whose lives are already destroyed are
shown, here it shows the before and after, allowing the audience to see how
heroin effected Rodneys life. The viewer can see how much his appearance
changed and how much he let himself go, simply because he didnt care
anymore, all he cared about was heroin.