This PSA could save your life
Plus: Hear me out, what if social media was actually regulated in the public interest?
Hello, in this issue we’ll look at how a clever new public service announcement was designed to overcome stigma, and I think out loud about how modern communications law might be engineered for the public good.
Scroll to the end to see: what you should be focusing on if you want an arts and cultural grant in the second Trump administration 📜
This PSA could save your life
Just in time for World Cancer Day this month, the American Lung Association and the Ad Council teamed up with Hill Holliday, a creative agency, for a pair of public service announcements to encourage Americans to get screened for lung cancer. Their success at raising awareness has life-or-death implications.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the U.S., killing 361 Americans every day, according to the American Lung Association's 2024 "State of Lung Cancer" report, but it doesn’t have to be that high. Cases that are diagnosed early have a higher survival rate, but health officials face a major hurdle: only 27% of cases are diagnosed at an early stage.
“If Your Lungs Could Talk” is an attempt to change that. The PSAs imagine conversations between former smokers and their lungs as represented by actors in a giant lung suit. In one PSA, a woman climbing stairs hears from her lungs who say they’re proud of her for quitting, but “you still may be at risk for lung cancer.” In another spot, showing a man on a run, his lungs tell him, “with a routine screening, you can detect it early when it’s more curable.”
The campaign will run across broadcast, print, radio, out-of-home, digital banners, and social media in 10-, 15-, and 30-second versions, according to the Ad Council. The ads encourage people to talk to their doctors and visit a microsite called “Saved By The Scan.”
There’s a unique stigma around lung cancer, according to a 2021 study published in the journal Translational Lung Cancer Research, and it could complicate public health messaging around the disease. The study found that “lung cancer was characterized by a greater feeling of guilt compared with breast cancer, being more frequently considered as a punishment.” Thus, lighthearted communications, such as people in ridiculous lung suits telling former smokers they’re proud of them could be key to reaching people at risk without judgement or shame.
“Our disarming new campaign shows former smokers hearing the potentially life-saving message about the importance of early detection in lung cancer directly from the source: their lungs,” Hill Holliday chief creative officer Dave Weist said in a statement.
By turning an intimidating topic into a conversation — literally — “If Your Lungs Could Talk” brings humor and humanity to break down stigma with an important message. Listening to your body can save your life.
Previously in YELLO:
Hear me out, what if social media was actually regulated in the public interest?
As the fate of TikTok in the U.S. hangs in the balance, President Donald Trump this week came up with a seemingly unworkable idea. Why doesn’t the U.S., a nation that’s literally run on a budget deficit since 2001, invest its non-existent fiscal surplus into a state-run sovereign wealth fund that could be used to buy TikTok?