“The Heat is On” Colorado DOT Campaign: Video PSAs
These PSAs include three 30 second videos. Each video has a similar format showing someone struggling with a task, showing some sort of consequence, and then a text message about drugged driving ending with the line “drive high, get a DUI.” For example one shows a man standing at a grill turning it on and off while nothing happens, while his friends sit around watching him and looking annoyed. It then shows text saying “Grilling high is now legal. Driving to get the propane you forgot isn’t.” The explicit message is not to drive while high. The more implicit message is that there are social consequences for how you might act while high. This message seems stronger and more memorable than the explicit “don’t drive while intoxicated” message. Therefore, the PSAs may have been developed to decrease drugged driving by discouraging less marijuana use in general. There is also information about the extent to which you’re impaired, which people might apply to driving.

Audience Features
Based on the people shown in the PSAs, the message is aimed at young adults. Almost every person in the videos was white and every main character (ie, the character that was high) was a white male. This will have different effects depending on whether it reflects the demographics of marijuana users in Colorado.
Some people will probably be resistant to health messages about marijuana because they take a very polarized view towards the issue and feel strongly that it should be entirely legalized, so they’re motivated to not put much stock in information about risks and downsides of marijuana use or any negative messages. However, the more general nature of this message could be more readily accepted than a message based on facts or data. Also, the message is based on legality/punishment for drugged driving, but that may be ineffective if marijuana users already used it prior to its legalization.

Other Relevant Info
Contextual/Environmental issues to discuss include current events and the recent legalization of medical and recreational marijuana in Colorado, including news media and political ads; marijuana use in entertainment media, especially the extent to which people are portrayed as impaired; institutional effects such as on law enforcement; other campaigns about marijuana use (such as one in Colorado directed at teenagers) and maybe campaigns about drunk driving since it’s a similar issue and prevention involves similar behaviors.

Psychological Processes Social learning theory can be applied to this message. I will address how this message relates to the four capabilities in this theory. In self-regulation, people’s relevant norms and goals may be in flux due to changing legalization status. In self-reflection, they may check their beliefs about impairment against the video and other’s beliefs, which could be exemplified by some of the youtube comments for these videos. There is strong symbolization in the form of social symbols, which may connect to ideas about belonging and acceptance (or lack thereof). The audience may learn vicariously, especially if they haven’t used marijuana before, about the effects and consequences of using it and, whether the characters are enjoying it, etc. People will likely attend to the videos because they’re humorous and seeing marijuana messages may be novel. The social cues in the video could provide motivation. However there is no information about reproduction or how to avoid drugged driving. People will probably rationalize their own behavior if they do drive while high by finding ways that their situations are different than the ones in the video.