A public service announcement (PSA) or community service
announcement (CSA) is a non-commercial advertisement broadcast on
radio or television, ostensibly for the
public good. PSAs are intended to modify public attitudes by raising
awareness about specific issues.
The most common topics of PSAs are health and safety, although any
message considered to be "helpful" to the public can be a PSA. A typical PSA will be part of a public
awareness campaign to inform or educate the public about an issue such as
smoking or compulsive gambling.
Some religious groups produce PSAs on non-religious themes such as
family values. Examples include the long-running "Homefront" campaign from
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Seventh-day Adventist
Church, and more recently the United Methodist Church.
The military produces PSAs to recruit enlistees, in addition to paid
advertising and sponsorship efforts.
The Ad Council is the largest producer of PSAs in the United States.
Other producers distribute traditional PSAs to station
directors.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.