That’s the key message in the recently named Best PSA, Swashbucklers, sponsored by The Church of Latter Day Saints.
Media directors from across the country cited this spot as their pick to represent best practices among the PSA campaigns they receive and support. So what makes it a standout?
In this movie trailer cum PSA, there is certainly enough drama and production quality to satisfy even Stephen Spielberg. As a father and son battle the 16th-century lords and protect the princess, we feel our adrenalin surge. The production standards and storyline are enough to make it a smash hit generally, let alone among media directors.
Production quality aside, media directors say the most appealing factor driving their likes/dislikes is the relevance of the issue. In picking Swashbucklers and “fathering,” media directors are tightly aligned with the new administration, which has made a point of highlighting “good parenting” and “parenting skills” as important issues for our country. As one media director put it, “Good people begin with good parents.”
The message is a welcome relief from PSAs that err on the side of fear tactics, are far too sobering to consider enjoyable in any sense, and sometimes even border on the unsuitable for family viewing. This PSA instructs through positive role modeling. There is no heavy voiceover delivering a finger-wagging strategy statement to lectured viewers. The single voiceover sentence simply invites viewers to “Imagine what a little time will do for your family.” And imagining is what this fantastic fantasy spot is all about.
Because while the spot is a metaphor for imagining what good parenting is and is not, it is imagining what fun parenting can be. It is a reminder that good parenting is not just about setting restrictions, saying no and enforcing behaviors. It is about laying a foundation of caring, trust and laughter that will help develop the parent-child bond. That’s a bond that parents can hope to rely on when the topics for discussion get a whole lot tougher than saving the princess.
