Autism PSA
For this month’s Advanced Writing for PR class, we created a Public Service Announcement (PSA) for television. Here’s a quick scoop on how it all came to be. Since my son AJ is autistic, I chose to create a PSA on autism. AJ (20) is pretty high functioning and getting higher everyday, thanks, in no small part, to his older sister Arika (23). AJ is featured at the end of the video.
The PSA had to be between 55-60 seconds and represent a non-profit cause. It required a call to action and recommended creating a memorable phrase that would help communicate the message effectively- remember “only you can prevent forest fires” or “This is your brain, this is your brain on drugs. Any questions?” I chose “Take the Time to Free My Mind.”
The video went from conception to final product in just two weeks- last week we created the audio and video script for both this PSA and a 30 second radio spot. This week was devoted to creating the actual video (and at the same time, learning more about how to use iMovie).
Please let me know what you think about the PSA. Did you learn anything about autism for example? How effective was the call to action? Any feedback is very much appreciated. And we’d love it if you’ll share this story with someone.
Cheers,
Curtis