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1. Social Action and Community
Media
Existing Product Research
Daniel Edwards

2. Case Study: Ministry of Health Anti-smoking
Purpose: The purpose of the campaign is
to raise awareness about the risks of smoking
and the damage it can do to your body. The
cigarette shaped into a noose is done to
change the readers attitude on smoking, by
immediately associating smoking with death.
To the younger generations smoking may be
seen as cool and this poster goes to lengths
to challenge these dominant representations.
This poster may allow the Ministry of Health to
build an understanding with the average
smoker which allows the smokers to fully
understand the risks being taken.
Aims: The primary aim here is to startle the
average smoker with a poster that has death
at its forefront.

3. Techniques:
The two largest words on the screen are „smoking‟ and
„suicidal‟. Immediately the smoker associates the word
„smoking‟ with death, and this may help negate such
widespread use.
They have tried to influence smokers by placing a noose as the
most standout thing on the poster. Nooses are used to commit
suicide and by the noose being designed with the aesthetics of
a cigarette the reader cannot avoid the meaning behind the
poster.
The colour scheme is simplistic, yet effective. Primarily it is just
red, white, and black. The red is used as a pointer towards
health, as you can see with „Ministry of Health‟ being used in
red in the bottom right of the poster. Red is a great colour to
use because when coupled with the word „health‟ is makes you
think about things like blood and your heart.
There is a very dark tone to the poster, which is needed for
such a serious subject. Without this dark tone the poster would
not hit as hard, and most likely would not leave you with any
lingering thoughts after reading it.
The font used is very bold and mature, which works side by
side with the dark tone as anything other than bold and mature
would mean the reader might not take the poster as seriously
as it is intended.
Case Study: Ministry of Health Anti-smoking

4. Impact:
In Britain in 1948, 65% of men were cigarette smokers.
Since then, with the help of advertisement campaigns
and higher prices, these statistics have dropped rapidly.
By 1970, just over half of the men in England still
smoked, at 55%. Since then, the amount has fallen
dramatically to 22%. As smoking rates have dropped,
lung cancer has also taken a dramatic fall.
http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-
info/cancerstats/types/lung/smoking/lung-cancer-and-
smoking-statistics
This is a great website to look at for smoking statistics
and even offers graphics that provide evidence of
change since advertising campaigns for anti-smoking
began being shown to the mainstream.
Slowly, cigarettes are becoming more frowned upon and
less used in Britain, and with the recent climb in
purchases of e-cigarettes it is clear to see that many
smokers are actively trying to quit.
Case Study: Ministry of Health Anti-smoking

5. Case Study: NHS against new health reforms
Purpose: One of the primary purposes of this campaign
is to bring about national change by targeting Prime Minister
David Cameron directly in relation to his NHS plans. With the
NHS being so important to the United Kingdom, this campaign
instantly gained widespread recognition, and in turn rose
awareness throughout. With this heightened awareness, the
likelihood of additional campaigns and further targeting of
David Cameron rises, as does the chance of change.
There is a good chance this campaign could effect voting
behaviour in upcoming elections, as bad press could be
detrimental to Cameron‟s public image, meaning more voters
could turn their attention to the Labour government.
Aims: The aim of the campaign is to address David
Cameron directly in hope that he may consider altering the
new health reforms brought in by the at the time newly elected
coalition government.

6. Techniques: The NHS have made themselves look very
good here. The endearing, professional and polite tone will
communicate with Cameron on a personal level, which is
definitely needed if he is to feel any amount of guilt.
With the main writing on the poster looking handwritten, as
though it is a personal letter from Dr Sheppard to Cameron, you
can see the NHS are attempting to come across as desperate,
without looking desperate at all. Double use of the word „please‟
only exaggerates this, and „listen to us‟ separates the NHS from
the government completely, as though to say to they to put a lot
of effort in to get them back on their side.
They have put key information about the fact that two thirds of
NHS staff believe the reforms will make the NHS worse in
orange, so it stands out further. Cameron cannot argue with this,
as the statistical evidence is staring right at him.
The palette is very subdued, which also helps convey their
endearing tone. Other than for the statistics, there are not any
bright colours on the poster at all.
The main image is Dr Brigid Sheppard, so Cameron can actually
see who is talking to him. Having the ability to see her makes
the campaign more likely to stick in his mind after reading it.
Case Study: NHS against new health reforms

7. Impact: The campaign ended up having little effect as the
bill was eventually pushed through. Cameron even said he
“didn‟t mind taking a hit on this one.”, showing it was unlikely he
was ever fazed by the campaign. Liberal Democrat leader Nick
Clegg has since even proposed further plans that the NHS are
likely to oppose.
Currently there are many NHS campaigns against government
plans. The most coveted one currently being a petition to stop
Jeremy Hunt‟s new privatisation plan, which currently stands at
over 369,000 signatures.
There are more aimed at Jeremy Hunt too, this being a
campaign for him to begin training health-care assistants, with
38 degrees wanting compulsory, consistent training for all.
Another NHS campaign is one to see a change in out-of-hours
services, which some believe are endangering lives.
Case Study: NHS against new health reforms

8. Purpose: The primary purpose of this campaign poster
was to bring about national change. By placing George Bush
Snr alongside some well known evil leaders of the past the
poster wants you to see him as one of them. The poster wants
you to believe he shares some of their beliefs.
They may also have hoped that the poster would change
voting behaviour. You cannot imagine the majority would turn
on the president they elected because of one poster, but it is
likely this could have changed the opinions of many when it
came to the next national election US presidency.
This poster may also challenge dominant representations and
agenda‟s. A lot of the US public may have believed the death
penalty was needed, but after seeing who else shared their
sentiments, it is easy to imagine many changed their mind.
The poster may also have helped provide information to US
citizens who may have not known some of these leaders also
believed in the death penalty.
Aims: The aim of the poster was to try and make a push for
the death penalty to be voted out in the USA, and also to
oppose George Bush Snr.
Case Study: Amnesty International anti-death penalty

9. Case Study: Amnesty International anti-death penalty
Techniques: They have tried to influence the US public
by placing then US president George Bush Snr alongside Mao
Zedong, Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein, Joseph Stalin, and
IdiImin, who some might say are not the friendliest of people.
The colour scheme is solely black and white, which may point
towards the fact that Amnesty International believe George
Bush Snr‟s views are old-fashioned and outdated.
There is a dark tone throughout the poster, but with the text
reading „All those in favour of the death penalty, raise your
hand.‟, I believe there is also an element of sarcasm.
The text is easy to read as it in bold and in block capitals,
though your eyes are drawn to the images before you read
what it says underneath.

10. Case Study: Amnesty International anti-death penalty
Impact: The campaign didn‟t alter the USA‟s views on the
death penalty. They remain one of the top 5 executers in the
world along with China, Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia.
Currently, 140 countries have abolished the death penalty in
law or practice, the latest being Latvia. 4 countries though,
have decided to bring it back. These being Pakistan, India,
Gambia and Japan.
In 2012, 1,722 people were sentenced to death in 56
countries. This is down from 2011 when there were 1,923
death sentences in 63 countries. The amount of countries to
have performed executions in 2003 was 28, that figure has
now dropped to 21 in 2012.

11. Case Study: Petition for Verizon to help against Domestic
Violence
Purpose: The purpose of this campaign was to
raise awareness about Verizon‟s $500 fee to end your
phone subscription, which under certain
circumstances was endangering lives.
To campaign, a petition was started on change.org
needing 150,000 signatures for it to be taken to
Verizon.
To many, the $500 fee may have been a shock and in
turn the key members of the campaign were able to
provide information that about subscription fees under
these types of circumstances which could have been
dangerous to some people in the future.
They also attempted to infiltrate mainstream media by
advertising their petition on Twitter and other social
media platforms.
Aims: The aim was to get Verizon to completely
abolish their $500 fee, in hope that circumstances like
the one shown in the petition, where a woman with no
money who‟s life was in danger was unable to cancel
her subscription, thus was able to be tracked by her
abusive partner who had access to all of her records.

12. Case Study: Petition for Verizon to help against Domestic
Violence
Techniques:They decided rather than
campaign via posters they would create an online
petition on 38degrees.com and promote it via social
media. This is a great technique as if the campaign
begins to get some support from the public, Verizon
are instantly put in a position where they are the bad
guys unless they make a change immediately. This is
one of the most effective ways of achieving change in
the current social climate.
On the petition page, there are people in the
comments section threatening to boycott Verizon if
they do not get rid of their $500 subscription
cancellation fee. A boycott of large proportions would
harm Verizon considerably, and it would be hard to
come back from.

13. Case Study: Petition for Verizon to help against Domestic
Violence
Impact: The campaign was a huge success. They
needed 150,000 signatures and they attained over
186,000 within a small amount of time.
Verizon have completely gotten rid of a subscription
cancellation fee, and have actually come out of the
campaign quite well by giving themselves a lot of the
credit for strongly opposing domestic violence.
Their website has many pages supporting those who
have struggled with domestic violence, and they are
now doing multiple things to help out.
They are now funding programs in New York State to
help domestic violence survivors start small
businesses.
They have also developed an idea called Verizon
HopeLine where they collect no longer used wireless
phones and donate them to those who cannot afford
them. Currently they have collected over 10million
mobile phones for domestic violence survivors. You
can find these statistics and read up on the work they
do here:
http://aboutus.verizonwireless.com/commitment/com
munity_programs/hopeline/

14. Case Study: Able Radio
Purpose: They tried to create access to media
production for non-traditional groups by creating a
radio station hosted only by those with disabilities.
They also strengthened community ties with fellow
disabled people who may want to listen to a radio
station hosted by people who fully understand the
position they‟re in, and can relate to on a personal
level.
They have attempted to challenge dominant
representations and agenda‟s by proving just
because they have disabilities it does not mean they
are any less skilled when it comes media work.
They have built relationships with subjects, by
developing an understanding with their proposed
viewer base about what their show entails.
Aims: Their aim is to create a community that the
disabled are comfortable with being a part of, and can
feel as though they can talk about topics they may be
too anxious to talk about with those that are not
disabled.

15. Case Study: Able Radio
Techniques: Able Radio have created a
community feel by attempting to draw in people of all
disabilities. One of their motto‟s is „Your station at the
heart of your community.‟
Their community feel is proven to be true when you
look on their website, where they provide high quality
training programmes for those wishing to learn how to
work in the media.
Many of their workers are volunteers which shows
how much they care about their radio station as they
are willing to do their job for no pay, just the
satisfaction it brings them.
Because of the lack of any radio stations similar to
Able Radio, it is not overly difficult for them to gain
exposure via social media, and those they use that as
a tool to promote themselves to great effect.
There is a very light-hearted and happy tone
throughout their work.

16. Impact: They have been deemed important
enough to receive funding from The Big Lottery which
in turn has seen that they are able to afford to employ
a professional management team to ensure the
station is used to it‟s full potential, and can expand.
While broadcasting from Wales, they have now begun
to pick up listeners all across the United Kingdom.
They are now in a position where they are able to
support charities and other organisations at
conferences.
Their website has been shared 3,974 times on
Facebook, and 1,151 comments have been made on
those shared links.
Case Study: Able Radio

17. Case Study: Kick It Out, anti-racism campaign
Purposes: There are many intended purposes
for the Kick It Out campaign. One of the primary ones
is to change attitudes on racism within football, and in
general. Racism has plagued football for as long as
the game has been played.
They are also attempting to raise awareness about
the severity of racism in football, as some may not
fully understand the scale.
They also trying to strengthen community ties by
bringing groups together to talk about the issue of
racism and how it can be eradicated.
They are able to infiltrate mainstream media by
getting footballers to wear anti-racism shirts prior to
football matches whilst getting television coverage.
Aims: The aim is to eradicate racism from football
completely, whether it‟s fan chanting, managerial
choices, or unfair prejudices in relation to skill based
on skin colour.