History of PSA

Where did public service announcements begin? What was their main purpose? How have they evolved throughout the decades?

PSAs began during WWII, spreading through radio broadcasters as propaganda. These PSAs advocated the listeners to buy War Bonds necessary for the war. This practice continued after the war in what is now known as a PSA. Their main purpose was to spread nationwide campaigns for a certain cause supported by a non-profit organization. Post-world war PSAs often included the topic of civil rights, environment conservation, and cancer treatment. One significant impact of the popularized PSAs were the anti-tobacco campaigns which eventually caused a decline in smokers as well as a law passed against advertising of cigarettes. However, as media platforms began to suffer from competition and the concept of PSAs began to be criticized, the idea of supplying free ad time came to be seen as unprofitable as well as being unnecessarily controversial, therefore causing an overall decline in PSAs seen in media.