Anti Lsd

My group developed a video psa outlining the risks and effects LSD has on one’s body. We decided to demonstrate what LSD would look like for someone tripping on it and then proceeded to explain what is going on inside the body of the person tripping. We went with this method to deliver the information because it showed a first hand account of someone tripping on the chemical and allowed the audience to make a more informed opinion by depicting what the experience would actually be like. Additionally, we wanted to perform the PSA this way because we thought it would be a unique approach to the project by performing a skit while also incorporating a lot of information.
Essentially, my campaign sought to inform my audience about the effects of …show more content…
Looking at the differences, our campaign was more information based. In comparison to ads like an anti lsd psa, our presentation fixated on the information about the ingestion of LSD. The anti psa lsd presented a girl and a boy who took lsd and their life was spiraling out of control with distorted visuals and alternative editing to show that LSD could potentially ruin lives. The extent of information which was presented even dulled our PSA in comparison to ads which used entertainment as a drawing in factor. The anti lsd psa conveyed a good story about the girl and the boy whose lives are being destroyed by the drug. The main difference is that the anti lsd psa didn’t focus much on factual information to present to its viewers and help them make an educated choice about the drug. The PSA leaves out factual information and uses scare tactics as a persuasion method to fulfill their goal. Both advertisements did incorporate a creative aspect into the advertisement to draw the audience in and keep them glued. This advertisement also utilizes gender to cater to an audience of males versus females. Having a boy narrator and having the main character or main drug user being a boy it resonates more with male viewers. This same strategy is detailed in Metzl’s book, “The Gendered Psychodynamics of Pharmaceutical Advertising.” In this book Metzl explains the gendered specific advertisements which …show more content…
The anti lsd ad took a very stereotypical approach to convey an anti drug message. The ad showed kids ingesting LSD in very shady environments and progressed to show the kids doing other drugs and being rebellious with their school and responsibilities. This is a very clever strategy to scare kids into thinking that LSD is the causal link between oneself and all these bad effects happening to these other kids. The main persuasive strategies used in this ad are fear and ethos. The ethos aspect is similar to my PSA but the fear tactic is the critical difference. The LSD ad uses fear to deter teens from following along a similar path of the kids presented in the video who are going onto harder drugs just from trying LSD once. The other strategy used is ethos. The ad is funded by the government and the health department, it is clearly noted throughout the advertisement. Using the government as an endorsement of the message sways the minds of viewers. My ad didn’t utilize fear as a tactic to convey our information, rather we stuck with ethos to establish credibility behind our message. The branding of LSD is labeled not as its chemical name but as ‘battery acid.’ This resembles the message developed in “Profits and Pandemics,” a book read in class. It is noted here that companies use strategies of branding to sell their product to a more favorable consumer base. For