This video is a public
service announcement against alcohol abuse.
It shows a young girl at a support group, describing how she will become
an alcoholic in the future. The girl
talks about how having a problem with alcohol will cause her to have other
problems. The commercial encourages
parents to talk to their children about alcohol abuse in order to prevent them
from becoming dependent on alcohol. I found this video, called AFN Commercial – Stop Alcohol Abuse on
YouTube.
Discussion Questions:
1. How does the creator’s
choice to use a young girl in this situation affect the commercial’s
message? Would the commercial have been
as effective if the main character had been a young boy or another adult?
2. Is the commercial
effective in its goal to raise awareness of alcohol abuse?
3. How does the
commercial’s tone affect its message?
4. What type of audience
is this message geared towards?
5. In the public service
announcement, the young girl mentions that, in the future, alcohol won’t be her
only problem. What type of message are the creators implying by this comment?
I think the message it is trying to give out would be that parents should talk to their children about drugs and alcohol at earlier ages of life. Informing them of the effects and consequences of abusing alcohol, not to scare them, but to let them know to be responsible and wait until your old enough and understand it all.
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ReplyDeleteFirst, I think this ad uses young teenager as a reminder that alcoholic addiction among children is a serious issue for both young teenagers themselves and their parents. When other young teenagers see this ad, they can feel exactly what the girl said; When parents see this ad, they will associate this with their own children's situation at once. If the little girl was replaced to an adult in this ad, which seems like a kind of nag. Second, the way the little girl said about she was an alcoholics was direct and straight. She just wanted to talk to her parents about what happened on her rather than hiding something. Based on this two points, this ad left a deep impression to people who firstly saw it. Then, children may begin to talk to their parents about they have done what they really don't want to do, such as drinking and drugs. Parents will start to pay attention to therir children's behaviors and communicate with them.
ReplyDeleteThe use of a little girl in this ad is a major factor in getting the viewers’ attention. It is obvious that the young girl does not belong in the setting of an A.A. meeting. If a mother was to see this commercial at a glance, her maternal instincts would kick in and she would automatically feel bad for the girl. When you start to hear the little girl speak, she sounds helpless and scared. She is speaking about things way beyond her years. It makes the viewer take immediate notice.
ReplyDeleteI feel that if the commercial had featured an adult it would not get the same attention. If an adult was the focus, it would not evoke much emotion out of its viewers because it has less shock value. A little boy would get more sympathy than the adult, but still less than the little girl. As a male, you are looked at differently than a female. As a stereotype, it is easier to see a male alcoholic than a female. Males are expected to drink more alcohol than women. Overall, the commercial used an excellent marketing technique.
Blog prompt 1: The video uses a gray, dark atmosphere almost as if the meeting is taking place in an abandoned building. Also the people in the video including the girl are wearing gray or neutral colors. I think the use of these visual elements suggests a serious tone, the director wants the viewer to experience strong emotion and sadness for this little girl. Also the facial expressions of the adults sitting around the girl, show how serious the issue is being taken.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the dark atmosphere and almost monotone colors create a serious tone but it also creates a feeling of loneliness. The other people in the group were silent and kept to themselves, not really showing support. The dark atmosphere is often portrayed in media as being alone or isolated so that creates an emotional appeal because as a child you shouldn't feel alone.
DeleteI think by having the girl mention that in the future alcohol will not be her only problem, it emphasizes how serious the issue of underage drinking is. The creators are suggesting that underage drinking and alcohol leads to more serious problems, and ultimately it provides another reason why parents should not take underage drinking lightly. it plays on parents emotions by suggesting alcohol will destroy their child's future.
ReplyDeleteThe comments that were made on youtube about this video commonly portray the theme that alcohol abuse is extremely dangerous, can start at a young age, and can be avoided. Some people who commented really thought that adolescent alcoholism is an important issue to address, and that this public service announcement was successful in doing so. Others put forth the idea that in order for adolescent binge drinking rates to decrease, the drinking age should be lowered so that alcohol is not such a “forbidden fruit”. They felt that teaching kids more about knowing their limits with alcohol is a better method than keeping them away from the substance completely. These two different ideas (one being that adolescent alcohol awareness is important and public service announcements are well needed, the other being that it is more important that we lower the drinking age and educate adolescents about alcohol and their limits) present two different types of logos. Either opinion is logical for different reasons. It is logical for one to think that people should see a public service announcement like this one in order to keep teenagers from abusing alcohol. It is logical to want the drinking age lowered and to educate teens for the same reason; however, the ethos must be taken into consideration with these comments as well. While public service announcements are logical and usually come from somewhere reliable, the idea of lowering the drinking age is a little less reliable because it has a less definite outcome. This is because binge drinking is already typical of teens in American society.
ReplyDeleteThe dark colors in this advertisement are used to appeal to the viewers sense of emotion. It's hard not to immediately feel sad when watching this. Not only is it sad, but also conveys that the matter on hand in serious. By using such a young girl, the video gives the message that substance abuse can happen to anyone. The video appeals directly to pathos and the emotion people feel while watching it. They use the saddenes to encourage parents to talk to their children about substance abuse before it's too late. It not only appeals to parrents however, but also younger kids. It attempts to show them how serious the matter at hand is, in order to prevent them from substance use in the future.
ReplyDeleteI think the creator's choice to use a young girl in the video had a tremendous affect on the message this video is trying to portray. The young girl makes parents realize that they should talk to their children at a young age about alcohol because the message tries to make the message that alcohol is a gateway to other drugs down the road. Parents are the target audience in this video because the message is trying to get parents to understand that their child is growing up and the older the child gets the more light that will be shed onto drugs and alcohol.
ReplyDeleteBlog Prompt #1- The dark setting in this video automatically sets a sad, serious emotional tone to the video. Also the setting is in an alcohol anonymous meeting where all of the characters in the circle are wearing dark colored shirts. The characters in this video also are an important part to the scenery in this video. The characters are treating the child very seriously making this setting more of a serious tone. The dark color of all their shirts also produces a dreary emotional setting which spotlights the girl. The use of the little girl gets the audiences attention from the beginning. The tone of the girl appears to be a serious but yet sad tone that automatically gets the audience attention because people are always trying to help out children.
ReplyDeleteBlog Prompt #3: The girl speaks with a very monotone voice. This little girl seems to have very little emotions. It is important to notice this because it doesn't seem like she is worried about her future. She is just stating a fact. She also says it in a way that makes it seem like there is nothing anyone can do for her and it is just how her life is going to play out. This strengthens the message because it makes the audience really think about the advertisement. It gives the audience more feelings on the issue of alcohol. Parents will look at this young girl and wonder if it will happen to their child. Since the girl does not have many emotions, the audience will feel more emotions and questions the idea of alcoholism in a deeper way.
ReplyDeleteI think that Jackie brings up a good point about the girl talking in a monotone voice. Usually a girl the age of the girl in the video is carefree, bubbly and loud. The fact that the girl is so unemotional makes her seem older, and takes away the innocence of that age. Parents who have a child around that age would be shocked by the stark contrast of the behavior of the little girl in the video and that of their own child. It forces them to think about how it would be if that was their child who was already troubled by the effects of alcoholism. The shock value of the having the girl talk in a emotionless voice is very effective to inspire parents to take action and talk to their children about drinking.
Deletethe young girl represents the ultimate form of innocence. The use of the little girl helps emphasize that drinking can start really early in life. It also shows that alcoholism can effect anybody, even the most innocent of people. In contrast, I also think that the use of the little girl gives off a sense of hope, a sense that her situation can be avoided if her parents talk to her about drinking. The target audience is, of course, parents with kids, as well as teenagers themselves.
ReplyDeleteThis video exposes the problems of starting drinking at a young age. It explains how teens that start drinking in 8th grade are 15 times more probable to become on alcoholic. The child is at an AA meeting explaining to the group how she will be an alcoholic in the near future. This fits in with substance abuse perfectly because it tackles the problem of teen alcohol abuse directly.
ReplyDeleteThis video is directed towards parents. It is encouraging parents to talk to their children before they start drinking to prevent problems that could arise in the future. After parents see this film, they will be affected by seeing the young girl whose only nine and is at an alcoholic meeting. It will show them that in society today, addiction could happen to anyone. From this it will give them the motivation to talk to their kids which is the message the video is trying to portray.
ReplyDeleteThe author's choice to use a young girl affects the commercial's message. In my opinion it makes the commercial seem more serious. Parents and older people who watch this commercial would most likely be more affected by the message seeing a little girl with a substance problem, opposed to the video using a young adult or young boy. A young girl represents innocence, which captures viewers when they see her in this type of state. The author is attempting to convey a message that in the society we live in today, anyone could ultimately have an addiction problem. Using the young girl helped in making the message more dramatic.