Nicholas Barbera
Professor Jackman
English 503
31 October 2017
Exercise 9
Bibliography:
“Building Life.” Empty Seat PSA, YouTube, 8 Sept. 2011,
The public service announcement I chose to analyze for this exercise was one called the ‘Empty Seat PSA’, published by the Building Life company. This company created this PSA to make people aware that suicide can be a preventable occurrence. If you are aware of the signs that someone struggling with suicidal thoughts presents, then you could potentially save your own, or someone else’s life.
The PSA shows kids throughout the video. These kids look like they range from middleschool to high school. I believe the target audience for this PSA are teens going through middle and high school. I am assuming that suicide rates are most likely higher in these age groups. I also believe it is targeting the parents of kids that are in this age group. Parents would be the best individuals to acknowledge this behavior in a teenager.
This public service announcement relies heavily on pathos to get its message across. The video is a bit longer at 3:22. The majority of the video is showing instances of a teenager missing in various school scenarios—hence the name ‘empty seat’. This is followed by the statement “don’t let there be another empty seat”. As the PSA continues, you begin to see the missing teenagers return to the empty spots and continue with their lives. This strategy definitely appealsto the emotions of the audience. It addresses the issue of suicide, but then shows the audience that it doesn’t have to be this way.It almost makes you feel guilty for not knowing the signs of someone who is contemplating suicide. Thankfully at the end of the PSA, multiple descriptions are given for someone that might be struggling with this issue. This is an appeal to logos.
As I stated before, using images of teenagers in various activities really hits the audience in the heart. It makes you realize that any teenager can be struggling with suicidal thoughts. Having these images followed up by the number for the suicide hotline, and different triggers for people with suicide, sends an effective and useful message. If I was a middle school student and I saw this PSA, I’d be better equipped to acknowledge if someone was struggling with this.
I do believe that is PSA is effective. It grabs the audience with appeals to pathos, and then it gives a strong ending with an appeal to logos. This combination is very effective in a PSA. You really want to replicate this formula if you want to get your message across. I am sure this PSA was received well, and may have saved people’s lives. Even though my subject wont be as serious as this one, I will try to use the same appeals to grab the audience’s attention.