Under The Influence host Terry O'Reilly on making a pandemic PSA

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People need to be informed during the pandemic, but if a public service announcement strikes the wrong note, audiences tune it out. That's why Terry O'Reilly, host of Under The Influence, says "tone is everything."

A public service announcement (PSA) today "has to be very serious and smart and it has to be based in science," O'Reilly told The Current host Matt Galloway. 

"In a time of crisis, you want to hear a calm voice. You want to hear experienced voices, and you want to know that they're the ones that have had their hands on the wheel."

If physical-distancing measures continue into June and July, tone might start to shift to keep people interested, O'Reilly said. 

"You see long-running campaigns for brands that have been around our lives forever, trying to refresh their message every year. I think that's going to have to happen here, too. Eventually, creativity will cut through that repetition."

O'Reilly's show airs on CBC Radio and tells the stories of the marketers, advertisements and campaigns that shape attitudes and influence purchasing. O'Reilly is an author, marketer and co-founder of Pirate Radio & Television. 

Repetition and psychology

The fundamentals of a good PSA are similar to those of good advertising, O'Reilly says, adding that it has to be clear, interesting enough to get noticed and voice a call to action.

"But I think the fundamental difference between a brand commercial and a PSA is instead of selling a product, of course, you're selling an issue. You might be asking for awareness for an issue or donations or volunteer time. But probably the biggest difference is many PSAs are trying to change behaviour," he said.

Changing behaviour is done in two ways, O'Reilly said, with the first being repetition. 

"You have to see something probably about 10 to 12 times before you actually register the message or actually act on it," O'Reilly said.

The other is psychological. Advertisers need to know what will trigger people to act on what they see and hear, O'Reilly said. 

"Which usually means you need some emotion in the ads. Emotion makes people act on something. Straight information they may intellectually understand, but they won't act on it."

Adding a celebrity, like recent PSAs with actors from the pandemic movie Contagion have done, is also a smart move because famous people grab attention, he said.

Pitfalls for pandemic PSAs

While emotion is important, O'Reilly cautions PSAs can get too intense. He says he often sees a late-night PSA about abused animals. Now, he mutes the TV when it comes on.

"It's so heart-wrenching that I can't look at it. So sometimes a public service announcement can be too good [and] people will be repulsed by it."

Campaigns can also be too simplistic, O'Reilly said, calling former first lady Nancy Reagan's anti-drug campaign Just say no relatively weak for that reason.

Lessons for advertisers

The pandemic has caused wide-spread economic problems that affect virtually every business. O'Reilly said the ad industry is in for a tough time. 

"It's very hard to have a profit agenda right now."

He says companies that promote goodwill or appear to be giving back will fare well. He cites a Chevrolet campaign to offer free OnStar security service as an example of that. 

"You will remember what Chevrolet was saying to you in a time of crisis. You may not be able to articulate it, but you'll just have some warm feelings toward that brand."

Written by Justin Chandler. Produced by Ben Jamieson.