Most Infamous Examples Of Public Information Marketing

One fascinating subset of life science marketing that is commonly seen but not as commonly commented on is marketing material that is not directly advertising a product but instead is providing a piece of healthcare information.

The most common example of this is known as the public information film (PIF), which was typically commissioned by the government to provide advice, information and warnings on a wide variety of subjects.

The subject matter varied widely, from not mixing different types of tyres, a series of films describing what to do in the event of a nuclear attack, to the dangers of children getting trapped in fridges

However, the most interesting, and some of the most infamous, were healthcare-related PIFs, which explained new symptoms, how to avoid serious injury and sometimes even basic first aid.

One of the very first of these was Coughs and Sneezes, directed by the father of PIFs Richard Massingham about the danger of sneezing and coughing in public without a handkerchief.

The somewhat humorous tone led to the videos getting a cult following, and because the films were produced by the Central Office of Information and could be freely used, they were often seen during times when a channel could not get enough adverts to fill a break.

A common trend of these was to provide information on a potential health hazard, such as Malaria or Rabies, which were relatively rare conditions to most people living in Great Britain and therefore were helpful to remind people to watch out for particular conditions and either get travel vaccinations or be careful.

Much of the advice suggested in PIFs is very basic, albeit with often ludicrously exaggerated results and a reliance on shocking and grotesque imagery, but that highlights the effectiveness of these campaigns for getting their message across.

This was especially helpful for campaigns such as the AIDS monolith, which was a major PIF campaign about the dangers of HIV, then an incurable pandemic but with a combination of major information campaigns and more effective antiretroviral medications has not only reduced cases dramatically but also made the condition manageable.