Scared safe? Public information campaigns

In my Simon in Germany post, Remember, Remember, the 5th of November, I wrote about sparklers, fireworks and the safety films I grew up with.

In this lesson we’ll compare British and German public information campaigns, learn vocabulary for persuasion and public health, and practise arguing for and against in a formal debate.

Level: C1.

This lesson comes from my Simon in Germany blog post.

Read: Remember, Remember, the 5th of November

Activity

Can you remember a safety advert or campaign from your childhood? What was the message? Did it work on you?

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Listen and read along

Reading: Scared safe

For decades, the British government had a habit of frightening its citizens for their own good. From the 1970s onwards, short public information films ran between children's programmes, warning of the dangers lurking on railway lines, building sites and riverbanks. One firework film showed a little girl who picked up a spent sparkler, followed by a close-up of her bandaged hand. In 1987, the UK's AIDS campaign used images of a tombstone and an iceberg to convey a sense of looming catastrophe. And during the COVID-19 pandemic, the government again chose hard-hitting imagery, showing patients on oxygen staring directly into the camera.

Germany took a noticeably different path. Its AIDS campaign, "Gib AIDS keine Chance", also launched in 1987, but it leaned on humour and openness rather than fear. One of its best-known TV adverts turned buying condoms into a supermarket joke. The aim was to remove the stigma, not to shock.

Supporters of fear-based campaigns argue that they are memorable and that they save lives. Critics disagree. They say fear can backfire and stigmatise vulnerable groups. In an age of falling trust, these campaigns can also look less like protection and more like paternalism. To some, they are the nanny state at work, or even a form of control.

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Listen and repeat

Vocabulary

Word / phrase	Meaning	Example
hard-hitting	direct and powerful, often shocking	During the pandemic, the government again chose hard-hitting imagery.
to lurk	to wait, hidden, ready to cause harm	The films warned of dangers lurking on railway lines and building sites.
looming	about to happen and threatening	The images gave a sense of looming catastrophe.
to backfire	to have the opposite effect to the one intended	Critics argue that fear can backfire.
stigma	shame or disapproval attached to something	The aim was to remove the stigma, not to shock.
to stigmatise	to treat a person or group as shameful	Fear-based campaigns can stigmatise vulnerable groups.
paternalism	deciding what is good for people instead of letting them decide	To some people, the campaigns look less like protection and more like paternalism.
the nanny state	a government seen as too controlling of people's personal choices	Constant health warnings make some people complain about the nanny state.
to convey	to communicate an idea or feeling	The tombstone was used to convey a sense of danger.

Simon says: I’ve never touched a spent sparkler in my life, all because of a film I saw as a child. Was that good government, or was I just scared into obedience? I’m still not sure.

Practice A: Complete the sentences

1. The campaign ___ when people started ignoring all warnings.
2. The aim of the German campaign was to remove the ___ around buying condoms.
3. Critics say constant health warnings are a sign of the ___.
4. The film was so ___ that some children had nightmares.

Show answers

1. backfired
2. stigma
3. nanny state
4. hard-hitting

Practice B: Reading for detail

1. Where were the British public information films shown?
2. Which two images did the 1987 UK AIDS campaign use?
3. How was the German campaign different in tone?
4. Give two reasons critics give against fear-based campaigns.

Show answers

1. Between children's programmes
2. A tombstone and an iceberg
3. It used humour and openness instead of fear
4. Any two of: fear can backfire, it can stigmatise vulnerable groups, it can look like paternalism or control

Practice C: Word formation

Use the word in capitals to make a word that fits the gap.

1. Many viewers found the adverts deeply ___. (DISTURB)
2. The government was accused of ___ people who were already vulnerable. (STIGMA)
3. Critics see the campaign as an example of ___. (PATERNAL)
4. The ___ of fear-based campaigns is hard to measure. (EFFECTIVE)
5. The German advert was ___ funny for a health campaign. (SURPRISE)

Show answers

1. disturbing
2. stigmatising
3. paternalism
4. effectiveness
5. surprisingly

Practice D: Now read my blog

Read my Simon in Germany post about November, then answer these questions.

Read the story

1. Why is it difficult for Simon to buy sparklers in Germany?
2. What has Simon noticed about the Remembrance Sunday procession over the years?
3. How did the traditions in Simon's home change over the years?

Show answers

1. They're only really on sale for New Year's Eve
2. Fewer veterans march each year
3. They became mixed. One Christmas was more English, the next more German, and they blended together

Now find these words in the blog. Can you work out what they mean?

1. a hybridisation
2. to merge into
3. a decent-sized crowd
4. to blend together
5. to spring back to life

Show the meanings

1. a hybridisation: a mix of two or more different things
2. to merge into: to slowly become part of something else
3. a decent-sized crowd: quite a large group of people
4. to blend together: to mix so you can't see where one ends and the other starts
5. to spring back to life: to suddenly become active or full of energy again

Language learning can be really challenging. I know, because I’m a language learner myself. I hope the information and activities were helpful. Try the following:

Should governments try to scare people into being safe? Write a 200-word opinion paragraph using at least four words from the vocabulary.

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This lesson comes from my Simon in Germany blog post.

Read: Remember, Remember, the 5th of November

Image credit: Photo by Fr0ggy5 on Unsplash
Fr0ggy5 https://unsplash.com/@fr0ggy5_fr0ggy5
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