Weekly posting 8: How to raise a nation

While working on the end assignment for this quarter, I noticed this message at Adfoblog.

Postbus 51 is the public service information centre in the Netherlands. It is part of the Government and in specific the Ministry of General Affairs.
Postbus 51 is especially know for its TV- and radiocampaigns. The name 'Postbus 51' comes from when the government opened one central mailbox for questions in the 50's: Postbus 51 in The Hague.

The TV and radio campaigns that Postbus 51 launches are mostly about 'raising' the Dutch people. A few examples of campaigns are: 'Drive with your heart', 'You smoke outside', separating garbage and "Bob jij of bob ik?" (about who is going to drive and not drink).

Every year when the budget of the Ministry of General Affairs is about to be discussed, the question rises whether the Postbus 51 campaigns are a waste of money or not. In the 'Tweede Kamer', many think it's useless, carping and expensive, says the 'Nederlands Dagblad'.

The critical CDA person Wim van de Camp says the campaigns are 'expensive operations and therefore we want to know who are reached and whether they have effect'. But, he doesn't want to dissolve Postbus 51. "We shouldn't go back to a neutral government like we had in the seventies. The government should be able to stimulate good behavior."

Some people, like Aad Muntz (72) who used to work for 'Centraal Beheer', say the messages in the campaigns should be more shocking to really affect people's behavior, like the Sire (independant foundation for idealistic commercials) campaigns. Other people say neither subtle or shocking commercials will affect people's behavior.
But what does affect people's behavior? I think personal experiences play a big role in whether people are willing to change their behavior. Imagine having lost a friend in traffic because of a drunk driver. It's not very likely you'll ever drive while being drunk. A campaign with shocking images can intensify this experience. Same goes for smoking, child abuse, fireworks etc. Experience + a little but of common sense should affect behavior, a campaign should work like a catalyst.

I think these campaigns should stay. Some with a shocking message, some with a teaching message. The context decides whether a person is touched. There is always one message for the right person at the right time. You can't expect everybody to be reached, but especially in these social subjects, every one person reached is one accident less. It's not a bad idea though to research numbers of the topics of the campaigns. This will only clarify what now is unknown and based on that, new decisions can be made to be more effective.