The project delivered a two- pronged attack. It provided the agencies with everything they needed to conduct a community-based highway safety program, from press releases to canned presentations. We had to overcome two barriers. The first was getting television stations to broadcast our PSAs at a time when people would be watching, rather than in the middle of the night. By involving the stations in the productions of the PSAs and featuring their on-air personnel in the spots, we created a sense of ownership by the stations.
People support what they help to create.
As a consequence, we got airplay during prime time, the Olympics, and the Johnny Carson show. The stations ran the PSAs for a full year. The second barrier was getting viewers to pay attention to the announcements. We overcame this obstacle by featuring local landmarks and local people in the PSAs. We know from the public's response to the campaign that this also worked quite well.