Public Service Announcements

by Hylo Bates.

If I ever had a bunch of money to throw around, one thing I would do is make some commercials to combat the propaganda thrown at us by various government agencies and political action groups. Here are the scripts for two of them:

Commercial #1 (Note to Reader: Just to help you picture my vision of this ad, it's in the same vein as those hypocritical new ads that try to assert that money spent on drugs helps fund terrorism. They're paid for by the Office of National Drug Control Policy.) It's a series of clips of people speaking to the camera, with various voice-overs talking along with them. To help the reader keep them separate, I've alternated colors between different vignettes. As with any script, blocking instructions (movement and so-forth) are in italics.

(Scene opens with Man 1’s face filling most of the screen against a black backdrop.)
Man 1: I helped a teenager shoot his teacher and two classmates. (Man 1’s voice fades in on voice-over) My daddy taught me to hunt, an I’m gonna teach my boy to hunt.

(Cut to Woman 1’s face in the same manner as Man 1)
Woman 1: I helped kill a police officer despite his bulletproof vest. (News reporter’s voiceover) A bill to outlaw armor-piercing bullets was voted down today...
Woman 1: It’s my constitutional right.

(Young man 1’s face as the others)
Young man 1: I helped a convicted felon buy an assault rifle at a gun show. (Young man 1's voiceover) God made men, Samuel Colt made them equal.
Young man 1: He killed a mother and her two children before killing himself.

(Cut to Businesswoman 1)
Businesswoman 1: I helped arm street gangs with the latest weapons.

(Cut to Young Woman 1)
Young Woman 1: I turned an unarmed pervert into a gun-wielding rapist.

(Cut to Battered woman in hospital bed)
Battered woman: I helped my ex husband shoot me three times in front of our children.

(Screen fades to black, then large white letters print:) If you’re giving
money to the NRA, you’re funding terrorists in your own neighborhood.
THE END

Commercial # 2
(Note to Reader: The format of this commercial is similar to the above one, except each vignette is a full scene, not just a face talking. I'm using the same color-scheme and format.)

(A young woman is studying in a college library, pen in hand as
she peers down at a book. She stops and looks up at the camera.)

Young woman: (smiling) I did it!

(A thirty something Teacher is at the front of a class of elementary school children calling on children who are enthusiastically raising their hands. She turns to write on the blackboard, when she notices the camera.)

Teacher: I did it, too.

(A forty-something couple lays in a single deck chair, watching the sun set
over a scenic ocean view. They kiss lovingly and look at the camera together.)
Husband: We did it.

(A frazzled-looking woman in a dirty t-shirt and jeans is standing at the checkout counter of a supermarket. She heaves a giant package of diapers up onto the counter, while the baby in her cart screams and a three year old and five year old fight over some candy. The scene is utter chaos and the noise is painful. The Mother sighs and looks at the camera, which zooms in abruptly to show just her exhausted face.)

Mother: I didn’t do it.

(A female Judge is sitting on the bench in court and wraps her gavel on the desk.
She notices the camera and smiles confidently.)

Judge: It was the best decision I ever made.

(A middle-aged couple walks through a lush yard, surrounded by numerous dogs and cats. Equipment and pens in the background make it clear they run a shelter for animals. The man kneels down to cuddle some animals, and the Wife puts her hand on his shoulder and looks at the camera.)

Wife: It’s been more than ten years, and we’ve never looked back.

(A Young mother is picking up a toy-strewn living room while a squalling toddler watches from a playpen in the background. She stops and wipes an arm across her brow, then notices the camera.)

Young mother: I didn’t even know it was an option.

(A middle-class couple is posing for a family portrait with their three children, all of whom are a different race, making it obvious that they’re adopted. They all smile for the camera.)

Adopted Mother: People told me I was selfish when we did it.
Adopted Father: (Smiles at his wife before telling the camera:) Needless to say, they don’t tell us that anymore.

(A Young woman is behind a counter at a soup kitchen, dishing out food to indigent people. The camera is looking over the shoulder of one homeless person and the Young woman notices it after dishing out a bowl.)

Young woman: (nodding matter-of-factly) Yeah, I did it.

(The camera pulls back to show the Homeless woman who’s just been served. She has a small child with her following her in line, and as she pushes the tray along with one hand, she turns toward the camera to reach back for the child. Her face is haggard and dirty, and the child is filthy. The woman notices the camera and looks solemn.)
Homeless mother: I didn’t do it.

THE END Back to Hylo Bates' Homepage II.