Wednesday, December 09, 2009

Which Campaign is More Effective?

Both LG and MTV have current campaigns centered around CyberSafety/Bullying/Sexting/Ethics. Alec Couros tweeted about the LG Give It A Ponder Campaign which stars James Lipton from Inside the Actors Studio fame. Here’s one of the videos:



I like the spots, but tweeted back that I wondered if this campaign would be effective with the target audience – presumably pre-teens, teenagers and young adults. Did I like them because I know who James Lipton is and can appreciate the context?

Then a day or two later I came across MTV’s A Thin Line campaign. These videos are very, very different than the LG ones. I’m sharing one below, but fair warning that some folks might find these offensive and, if you plan on showing these in your school, you might want to clear it with whomever you typically clear controversial things with. Now, I think this is appropriate at least for high school students (otherwise I wouldn’t share it on this blog), but others might disagree.



My first thought was that the MTV videos would be much more effective at stimulating a class discussion, and also grab the target audience’s attention even if seen “in the wild.” But then I wondered if any public service campaign on this topic (or any topic, for that matter) can really make a difference. I certainly think that most high school students, if you sat down and talked to them about these issues, could tell you the perils of sexting or cyberbullying, yet obviously some of them are engaging in these activities anyway. If that’s the case, then can/will a PSA convince them otherwise?

What are your thoughts? Would you use these in a high school classroom? Do you think these videos can be effective – either on their own, or paired with classroom discussion? And, no matter your opinion on those questions, are you addressing this topic in some way in your school?

7 comments:

  1. I'd use them! I doubt that any commercial is going to change student ideas about their choices in these matters, but we still need to do what we can.

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  2. I would want to use the MTV videos, but with prior approval. I think whether they are effective would depend on the student. Unluckily, the students who are the worst offenders would probably not be moved. Here is another interesting approach: http://challengeday.org/.

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  3. the problem with these campaigns is that they preach to the choir...the overwhelming majority of youth know how to behave themselves online. So we always end up vaccinating people with curriculum and campaigns like this when they already have a fundamental understanding of the importance of not sharing private information, not talking to weirdows online, not giving out their bank account info, and to be kind to others online.

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  4. I certainly like the humorous approach over the shock or scare tactics. I'm skeptical of those approaches. Discussions with kids can help them make sense out of the video so that it becomes more real to them. They will probably have similar examples that make the ideas come to life.
    I also like these examples from Norway for MS students.
    http://dubestemmer.no/no/Jeg_er_13-17_ar/

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  5. I like these examples and both of them have their place. I agree with Matt that they most young people 'know' this stuff already, but I like how the LG videos try to advocate for a quick period of reflection before shooting off a text that could be a bad decision. A little more pondering could benefit young and old sometimes.

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  6. Great video...illustrative of what goes on everyday...quite worthwhile and useable...effective; however, those one cannot reach, one cannot reach.

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  7. I loved the challenge day video, it brought tears to my eyes. I thought that that would be a very good and effective way to help adolescence deal with high school. besides that the LG commercial was alright not bad for advertising a phone, but i love the MTV a thin line campaign i think its the best iv seen so far. The first time i encountered it, it actually made me THINK. I was like wow high school students should watch this and think about the consequences of such actions which require no thought.

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