Hair-raising
TV spot shunned
by broadcasters

It begins with a scene familiar in suburban America — school girls in soccer uniforms climb out of their family SUVs and rush out onto the field, pony tails bobbing behind them, as parents shout encouragement.

But just as the game gets under way, a blast pierces the excitement. Panic and chaos erupt; there are injuries. A mother screams in anguish as her husband emerges from the field carrying the lifeless body of their daughter. The screen goes dark and a tagline comes up: "If there were land mines here, would you stand for them anywhere?"

The public service announcement was intended to spark interest in clearing land mines and the other explosive remnants of war that litter some 80 countries across the world — and kill and maim 20,000 people a year, many of them children.

"We felt that because children are victimized by the land mines more than adults, that it was important to make the parallel story as clear as possible," says Guy Barnett, creative director at Brooklyn Brothers, the New York City ad agency that produced the spot for the U.N. Mine Action Service. "We foolishly thought that people would think that the message … would be important enough to show."

Few takers
The spot's release by the U.N. agency, which says it sent the PSA to dozens of U.S. broadcasters, including all major networks and most cable channels, has been met by a deafening silence.

Since the PSA was announced in late December, the only U.S. television outlet to agree to run it has been The History Channel, which aired it just once, in the middle of the night.

"Either (broadcasters) have refused to air it or didn’t respond, or they continue to sit on it," says Richard Kollodge, information manager for U.N. Mine Action Service. "Some said it's not appropriate for our audiences, or there were a lot of different reasons."

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He said his agency continues to follow up with networks for airtime. CNN International, which broadcasts outside the United States and had agreed to air the spot last week, said this week that it had pulled the spot, according to Kollodge, after CNN domestic rejected the PSA for what officials told him were "various reasons."

CNN did not respond to repeated calls seeking comment.

Too much reality for a real audience?
Experts on media and on land mines who viewed the spot reacted with a mix of admiration and incredulity.

FREE VIDEO Networks say no to PSA April 12: MSNBC.com’s Kari Huus discusses the refusal of television networks to air a PSA on the global landmine crisis with MSNBC-TV’s Ron Reagan and guest host Susan Molinari. MSNBC

"There is a part of me that wants the American public to see the truth and I think the spot conveys the truth … and in my ideal world every individual would see that truth and take action," says Mia Drake Brandt, who produces public service announcements for UNICEF USA. "But I knew it would never fly. You can't get that graphic. No one will accept it."

"Unfortunately we have to be very strategic and cautious as we negotiate the system and try to get as powerful and compelling as we can within those strictures," she said.

"Was the video right on? Absolutely," says Heidi Kuhn, head of Roots of Peace, a California-based organization that funds mine-clearing projects in Afghanistan and elsewhere, and then builds schools and playing fields on the cleared sites. But she concedes the PSA may be a bit "too powerful" for American audiences, which haven't experienced the effects of land mines on their own soil.

Before a public service announcement can even reach a U.S. audience, it has to pass muster with media managers.

"The first rule of thumb is that you have two audiences," says Robert Schultz a partner at  Plowshare Group, a Stamford, Conn.-based firm that specializes in public service announcements for non-profits and government agencies. "The first is the media gatekeeper," so it has to fit their style and sensibilities. "If it is going to upset viewers, it’s not necessarily one that is compatible," he said.

Shrinking slot for public service
Calls to broadcasters were inconclusive about the reasoning behind the spot's failure to get air time.

NBC, ABC said they did not receive the spots, and CBS did not respond to telephone inquiries.

ABC spokesperson Julie Hoover was willing to offer general guidance on PSAs, however: "If a TV network feels it's too graphic or controversial or a discussion of a controversial issue of public importance … then they're not going to run it."

Other comments are a reminder of the stiff competition for broadcast space — and that the allotment of time offered to public service messages has plummeted since the federal government dropped it as a licensing requirement in 1985.

Advocacy concerns
"We rarely consider outside PSAs," said Erika Pascal, who oversees ad traffic for MSNBC and CNBC. "If we did get (the spot), we didn’t review it and didn’t consider running it," she said.

(MSNBC.com is affiliated with MSNBC cable under a joint venture between Microsoft and NBC News.)

Groups that clear mines and aid victims Adopt-a-minefield Landmine Survivors Network U.N. Mine Action Service Roots of Peace

Lifetime Television said it turned down the spot because it was too long — 60 seconds compared with 15 seconds for most public service messages. "It didn't fit our format," said Gary Morgenstein, a spokesman for the network. He declined to comment on the content of the spot.

The soccer PSA may have been viewed as crossing into advocacy, in which case it would not be eligible for free air time. The United States is the only NATO country not party to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, and the Bush administration is under fire for backing away from a U.S. presidential directive to eliminate land mine use by 2006. Thus, the soccer spot might be construed as an effort to press for policy change.

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