Photoshop Assignment: Peer Counseling PSA Ad
For this assignment we were instructed to create a public service ad based upon Rachel McNamara's visit to our class about the services offered by Peer Counseling Services.
Below is the ad that I created for the assignment:
I chose to go with an extremely simple, yet effective format for my ad. I wanted to advertise the Peer Counseling services that are offered at the College of Charleston by the Counseling and Substance Abuse Services Department. While simple, I chose to portray a message that was easy to grasp in a few short seconds of looking at the ad but also is effective. To accomplish this, the central image was an extremely strategic pick. I wanted an image that most, if not all, college students could relate to. We may not have all been that drunk person passed out the in the middle of the dormitory hall, but we all have seen, or know someone who has seen this occurrence. The normalcy of this image speaks to the fact that drinking too much is a huge problem on college campus. Also, the fact that this image is set in a dormitory speaks to a target audience of primarily freshman who are still testing their limits with alcohol. Since all freshmen that are not commuters are required to live on campus, this image would speak to them.
I chose use the message of not wanting to be "that guy"; the person who can't handle their alcohol and who wakes up passed out in the middle of a hallway. This is a powerful message because it's a funny occurrence but this person is also way past the point that they should be drinking to. By directing the message to the Peer Counseling number and information, it provides an immediate answer where a student can go to talk about how to drink responsibly and not over do it.
I chose to use the teal background (which for some reason, appears green on this webpage) with white and maroon lettering to give the ad a lighter feel to make the humor be the first message they notice and then the subtle undertones of the underlying messages. Also, the maroon lettering for the Peer Counseling information is the direct color from the Peer Counseling's lettering on their website. This is in keeping with their branding and allows us to also show the College of Charleston aspect to the PSA advertisement.