So, I was going to wish you all a Happy Fourth of July, and I was going to remind you to drink responsibly. But, that sounds a bit too preachy. Too cheesy. Too much like a Public Service Announcement. Ahhhhhhhh, remember the Public Service Announcements from the 1980s?! For those of you that live abroad as well as for those who might have been born post-1989, the Public Service Announcement (PSA) is a chessy radio or television advertisement that appears free of charge and promotes some kind of “public good”. (Like, for example, a water company might do a PSA on conservation.) So, in the spirit of the good ol’ fashioned PSA, I thought it would be nice if we could journey hand and hand down memory lane together to revisit a few very very special relics from the past—1980s Public Service Announcements that are still relevant today:
Lesson #1: Don’t fall when you can’t get up. Okay, so I guess this one technically doesn’t count as a “PSA” and it’s from the 90s not the 80s, but I love it anyway. This commercial shows an older lady crumbled into a pile on a bathroom floor. She’s trapped under her walker. “Heeeeelllp” she says as she radios to her strap-on emergency call button, “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!!!”
Lesson #2: Don’t leave your pet in a hot car. Okay, this one didn’t run for very long, but this PSA was a 1980s television ad that went something like this … The commercial starts and there’s a picture of an egg frying on the sidewalk. This deep, manly voiceover calmly asks, “Hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk?” Then, the camera cuts to an image of a dog locked in a car with the windows rolled up. All of a sudden, the voiceover guy gets louder and meaner and he booms, “THEN IT’S HOT ENOUGH TO FRY A DOG’S BRAIN!!!!!”
Lesson #3: Don’t use drugs. Okay, apparently fried eggs were all the rage in the 80s because this PSA used eggs, too. In this one, two well-manicured manhands hold up an egg. “This is your brain,” Mr. Voiceover says. (I think it’s the same guy from the dog PSA but I digress …) “This is your brain,” he says. Then, he cracks open the egg, pours it into a black frying pan, and the camera zooms in on the egg as it fries. Mr. Voiceover observes, “This is your brain on drugs.”
Lesson #4: Don’t let dirty old men molest you. Oh my dear, sweet, beloved baby Emmanuel Lewis. This one was pretty funny. In the commercial, little Emmanuel Lewis from Webster takes off running across the screen as fast as his little legs will take him. He talks about the danger of strangers and what you should do if one comes after you. “GO!” Pant, pant, pant. “RUN!” Pant, pant, pant. “TELL!!!”
Lesson #5: Don’t do anything that you can prevent with a good tagline. Life is difficult, but PSAs make it easier. All you really need is a really good tagline. Smokey the Bear warns us: “Only YOU can prevent forest fires.” McGruff the Crime Dog tells us: “Take a Bite Out of Crime.” The Crash Test Dummies put on their seat belts and say: “You Can Learn A Lot from a Dummy.” Nancy Reagan? “Just Say No” (to drugs). Seeee? Life is easier with PSAs.
Okay, kiddies, hope you enjoyed the trip down memory lane! Hmmm … just out of curiosity, does anyone else remember these commercials? Are there other really good 1980s PSAs out there that I forgot?
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“Have a Safe and Happy Fourth of July.” This Public Service Announcement has been brought to you by Stolie at the Funky Brown Chick dot Blogspot dot Com.
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Since I was born in 1984, I don’t remember a whole lot about the 80′s. But I do remember the PSAs at the end of every episode of GI Joe and Captain Planet. GI Joe’s PSAs had to do with safety and related issues, while Captain Planet and friends showed us how to better protect the environment. Ah, nostalgia.
Related: About a year ago, the GI Joe PSAs resurfaced on the internet. Someone had re-dubbed them and they were hilarious! Anyone know if you can still find those?
The commercial that I remember is “Where’s the beef?”
There was one about conservation and environmental protection that did not have any sound… it was an indian chief and he cried as the land was poluted… this may have been the ’70′s (yea I’ve been around that long)
Happy 4th!
The Bravery have a song called Public Service Announcement, it’s very catchy! Stop, drop and roll you’re on fiiiiiiiiire. Happy 4th July Stolie and meant to say that I did get your text! Don’t drink too much now, y’hear?
The Crash Test Dummies then went on from PSA fame to have a smash one hit wonder…..”Once there was a boy who….” or something like that
Happy 4th of July Stolie!!!
Kyla: I remember GI Joe!!!! Hmmm, but I don’t know where you can find those PSAs …
AWE: Ooooh! I remember those. I think those commercials made that old lady FAMOUS.
E: My friend Anna-S mentioned those once, but I’ve never seen thme. Maybe they didn’t air nation-wide?
Nics: Thanks for the Happy 4th wishes. It was a GREAT one.
Iheartprettyteeth: “… wouldn’t go and change with the girls in the change room. But, when they finally made her … they …. saw … birthmarks all over her body …. Couldn’t quite explain it … said they’d always been there …” :)
Mitch: THANKS!!! :)
Holy crap, the only one of those i remember is the “brain on drugs” one.
and of course Smokey T. Bear.
I remember people making fun of the “fallen and I can’t get up” one, but i can’t remember the actual commerical.
that Emmanuel Lewis thing: eeewwwwww.
especially in light of his “friendship” with Michael Jackson.
ewwwwwwww
although he was probably like 23 when they made the commerical anyway.
o wait okay, i do remember the “take a bite out of crime” ones, too.
ah, the 80′s. the last pre-irony decade.
belledame222: AND, not to mention, Webster was such a rip off of Different Strokes. In the battle of Emmanuel Lewis vs. Gary Coleman, I wonder who wins …
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