Unit 31: Social Action & Community Media Production Task 1

First thoughts
In this post I will be looking at the purpose and impact of Social Action & Community Media Production. Now before any research my initial view of it is that the impact is small and virtually none-existent in driving the public view away from things like smoking. The purpose of the anti-smoking ads is a good one and it does convince some people to stop smoking. But as a whole they prove unsuccessful. I am willing to guess that maybe 1% of the population that see these ads actually pay attention to what is shown which makes them either stop smoking or never start.

Research 

Purpose

The purpose of an anti-smoking campaign is the bring about local, national or global change to people attitudes to smoking and attempt to get people to quit. They do this through advertisements persuading people to stop, teaching the dangers of smoking in school either by having teachers talk to the students about the dangers of smoking or going themselves to give big talks in assemblies. They also have websites dedicated to anti-smoking and it has even gone as far as to put what can happen to you on cigarette packs.

 

Different social action groups have different effects on communities, this is due to their proir knowledge, poplarity and purpose. Take Pancrack Tv and Greenpeace for example. Greenpeace aim to and achieve a global change. Pancrack are more local to Teesside and therefore bring about a local change. This is evident through their documentaries and how this is seen by others. For example, with this documentary is beneficial in stopping a hellbent local authority from selling off public common and seafront for a housing development.

People's attitudes have changed dramatically to smoking.

Fifty years ago, a key report was published that marked the beginning of a change in our relationship with smoking. Although there had been previous warnings linking smoking and lung cancer, it was the 1962 study by the Royal College of Physicians, Smoking and Health, that really broke through to the public and politicians. Attitudes in the intervening 50 years have changed enormously. But in 1962, very few people took the dangers posed by smoking cigarettes seriously. That view is captured perfectly by some footage from the BBC archive, a report on the Tonight programme into the RCP study. One man who says he smokes between 20 and 25 cigarettes a day is - by today's standards - amazingly fatalistic. "Quite honestly, I think that the end of ones life is probably more in the hands of almighty God you know, than in my own hands or the hands of the tobacco manufacturers." (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17264442)

 

Raising awareness

      
"Figure out your cause. What are you passionate about that you want to bring attention to?

Create your pledge. Be specific and concrete. Are you pledging to do something or to abstain from something? He

Pledge to recycle.

• Pledge to lower your carbon footprint.
• Pledge to lower your energy consumption.
• Pledge to lower your water consumption.
• Pledge not to pollute.
• Pledge not to drink.
• Pledge not to do drugs.
• Pledge to stay tobacco-free.
• Pledge not to discriminate.
• Pledge to vote.
• Pledge to care for your pet.
• Pledge to practice safe sex.

Plot your spot. Figure out where you want to have people signing your pledge. Go for a high traffic area like the lunchroom, school or parking lot entrance, or even the entrance to the gym before a big game or rally. Creating a Wall of Pledges is also a great way to display all you have collected.

Ask for the go ahead. Now that you have found your ideal spot, make sure you have permission to be there. The last thing you want is to take the time to create this only to have it torn down.

Write it out. What will the pledge say? Be specific in what they're pledging to do.

Print ‘em out. You probably won’t need a whole sheet of paper for just one pledge. Maybe you can cut one sheet into two (or even four!) smaller pledges. It will save paper! If you can, try and make them look nice with color or pictures (or even color paper). That way, they will look awesome when they are all hung up.

Tell them to get their pens out. Now’s the time to get the signatures. As you receive them, hang them up. The more pledges that go up, the more amazing it will look. People will see how many other people have pledged their involvement, and they will be inspired to sign one too! Plus, in some cases, this can serve as GOOD peer pressure. Like if it’s a no alcohol pledge, knowing how many people don’t drink is a great way to keep someone from starting.

Be realistic. Timing is important when it comes to anything, even pledges. For example, if it’s around prom or spring break, you can modify the no alcohol pledge to be a little less restrictive. Ask them to pledge to assign a designated driver, to not drink and drive. Though it would be great to get people who are underage to promise not to drink, the main concern is their safety, so if they are going to drink, then we just want to make sure that they will NOT get behind the wheel. People may be more willing to sign something like that if they know they are more likely to stick to their promise!"

This list came from a web site that gives step by step instructions for things such as stopping smoking, banning drugs, helping alcoholics and other issues that are seen in our media often. I found it interesting how much work actually went into raising awareness for smoking. I was unable to copy in the full list due to it's size so here is the link to the web page. (http://www.dosomething.org/actnow/actionguide/wall-pledges)

To campaign
Campaigning is the blood of Anti-smoking. If people didn't campaign about it then public knowledge about the dangers of smoking would be low and that may in face lead to more people starting smoking. The whole reason for any of this, the websites, the promotional ads for stopping smoking, this blog would probably not exist if people did not campaign against smoking.

Social action groups are inportant to campaigns. It is difficult for some campaigns to find one though that would work for/with them and be able to grab public attention. Using the examples I gave earlier would both be ineffective. Greenpeace are to known and would be difficult to get a hold of and hire for the campaign. Where as Pancrack aren't known enough. They are easier to hire but with them not being as big as others it would be more difficult for their work to reach an audience outside of their local area. There are surprisingly few social action groups in the UK that fall into the category of being known well enough to make an impact and being available for hire. This is one of the many reasons why some social action campaigns never make it very far and their voice on the subject is not heard.

Build relationships on the subject
People who have gone through quitting smoking or lost someone to smoking are more effected by this. Because they remember the pain of loss or the struggle of quitting they know how bad things can get with smoking and because of that will agree with what they see and would possibly join a campaign against smoking. They do this through their ads against smoking which show similar scenarios which happened to these people to establish a mutual understanding of the subject which then begins the relationship between campaign and supporters.

Providing information
The main purpose of an anti-smoking campaign is to provide information to the dangers of smoking and keep the public knowledgeable to this information. To do this they state facts on their websites which give brief summaries in the home page and then provide a link for further information. There are also numbers you can call where staff can answer any questions you have about stopping smoking, what to do if your child smokes and if you yourself are having urges to smoke but haven't yet. If you follow a certain campaign then you can subscribe to a newsletter so every week you are sent one which have different peoples experiences where they have given up smoking and give advise on how to quit the habit.

Information is highly important to target public opinion in things such as voting. Getting public to support laws about smoking is difficult. Most people have fixed opinions on smoking which they have been taught about their whole lives. If you live with a family member who smokes as a child it sends a message to you that smoking is okay and you should do it. This is why anti-smoking campaigns need to be effective and stay with you. If you can make a smoker see the damage they are actually doing to themselves through smokeing then it can have a hugh change in the campaign.

Impact

In the last 60 years there has been a noticeable different in smokers. In the 1950's it was recorded that over 50% of the population smoked, today as of June 2012 it has been recorded that just over 20% of the population in the UK smoke. This is an excellent example as to how effective the Anti-smoking campaigns are. In a poll 13% of people today say they have never smoked, 38% say they have stopped and 49% say they currently do smoke.

It is becoming a common thing in society today to see the effects of smoking. It is seen daily by those who buy cigarettes when they simply look at the packet. So with this it is getting harder to make a shocking impact to make people stop smoking. This makes the social action groups have to think up new ideas to get people to stop smoking and therefore will save their lives.

Videos
Here I will be posting videos I have found about anti-smoking and analysing them to inspire my ideas for the ad I will be making.

This is a unique take on an anti-smoking advert. It is a mockery of smoking, saying that it "Stinks." In this world when the people are smoking there is no smoking involved, instead they fart. I personally believe that this was made to make smoking more unappealing to smokers by making it into something that is not usually excepted in social environments. But however it makes smoking into a joke that younger viewers will see as funny and would not take seriously and as such would not make them think to stop smoking or start all together.

Going in the opposite direction to the other video, this is a more shocking and personal ad for stopping smoking from a woman who has been highly effected by it where it has destroyed her body and voice. With a little further research I can tell you that what has happened to her in one aspect of it all is she has had a tracheo-oesophageal puncture. "It is found in people who have had a total laryngectomy, which is a surgery where the larynx is removed. A voice prosthesis that keeps food out of the trachea but lets air into the esophagus is inserted into this puncture."At first glance it delivers a shock onto the audience and I believe the shock value is much more effective the previous video and is maybe the best way to deliver an ad in this area of health.

In this video children ask adults to light a cigarette for them and when they say no the children ask why they can't smoke when the adults can. This makes them think and when the child walks away they hand them a leaflet saying "You worry about me but not about yourself" the video then goes to show them throwing away their cigarette and keeping the leaflet. This is the type of shocking evidence needed to get people to stop smoking. It is a casual thing for an adult to smoke because they know the risks, but when a child smokes it is a completely different issue. It makes you think and if this video is real not staged then it has had an effect the adults who spoke with the children.

Final thoughts
After looking into social action and how it is seen by the public I can say that I take back. Social action campaigns do have an effect on the public. I have seen this through the 0.5% of the smoking population that has been recorded to stop smoking each year. This is evedent through the +30% that quit in the last 60 years. It has given me insight into making my own anti-smoking film and I am confident I caan make some kind of impact.

Sources

http://news.sky.com/story/1187952/anti-smoking-campaign-new-ad-targets-addicts

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070719170315.htm