Writer: Wu Yiwei
Editor: Yang Xiao
In modern society, people use lifts very frequently, and the time spent waiting in lifts is boring and passive, and there is always a strong visual need to stay in a small and confined space, which can alleviate the embarrassment people feel. This can be used to alleviate people's embarrassment. Therefore, advertisements in lifts can be used to attract people's attention.
(Savanna's public service announcement in the lift. Photo by Wu Yiwei.)
In advertising, public service advertisements (PSA) are distinguished from ordinary merchandise advertising because they are intended to benefit and enhance the welfare of the public.
Because of the difference in design purposes, compared with the dazzling products in commodity advertisements, some public service advertisements try to arouse public sympathy and responsibility by using pictures that can arouse people's sympathy and responsibility.
Advertisements in the lift shaft can be seen by everyone who enters the lift shaft and ensure that everyone has the appropriate amount of time to read and think about it, all of which becomes memorable. Whether in a shopping mall or a residential area, the people who use them generally have a basic education and a certain level of spending power, with relatively generous additional disposable income. It is entirely possible that a sense of justice and compassion will increase the attention paid to those in need of help in PSAs.
The public service advertisements are designed to 'occupy' people waiting for lifts with a strong impact of colours and simple text descriptions, unfortunately, people are not easy to deal with.
"The most I do is simply scan the ad, but I don't pay attention to the specifics of the ad. That means I just see the ad and nothing beyond that. "Shi Yimai (20), a young Chinese student said, shaking her mobile phone in her hand," Rather than looking at the advert, I prefer to edit the content of the message to my friends while waiting for the lift so that I can send it once I get my signal back."
As she spoke and left the lift, her messages rained down on her friend's chat box as her mobile signal was restored.
"I don't really like ads, even public service announcements, they are just some companies do to promote their positive image. If I really wanted to do something I would have already started doing it instead of waiting for an advert to tell me what to do. It's not as important as caring more about whether it's on my floor or not." Ye Zhiqiu (21) from Shandong University frowned at the PSAs in the lift room and her tone became a little angry as she spoke.
"Waiting in a cramped and quiet lift tends to be a bit awkward for me, and looking up at ads tends to make eye contact, which I want to avoid. So I just keep my eyes on the floor of the lift or my phone screen as much as possible." Said Pan Lechen (20), an international student living in Savannah. She has some mild social anxiety and her self-preservation instincts can fill her head with thoughts of immediate escape, leaving no spare capacity to deal with the advertising messages in the lift.
Sadly, even when PSAs mimic the impact of product advertising, the actual publicity is not as effective. All print advertising is threatened by the onslaught of all sorts of bizarre work on short-form video platforms. People have long been accustomed to things that have a strong visual impact. The visual impact of print advertising is no longer attractive, and repetitive reading can lead to boredom and visual fatigue.
Even if PSAs represent the functionality and sense of responsibility of enterprises or social groups to society, advertising that has lost public attention and exposure is just a piece of paper, and the meaning of paper depends on people.
The effectiveness of straightforward publicity may no longer be able to keep up with the fast-paced life of modern people. Compared with PSAs, people pay more attention to their daily life, such as the food for dinner, and the chat and conversation with friends.
