Media Campaigns

"Be What you Want to Be"

Youth from the Teens United in Health program worked with Breaking the Cycle staff in 2005 to develop a television public service announcement directed toward other teens. The concept behind the PSA was to show the challenges of being a parent at an early age.

The youth developed several concepts, and producer Tim Johnson from Fox 61 worked with them to pick the best one for develop-ment. The final spot, which features a local teen mother talking about the difficulties she encounters, aired for the first time during Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month in May 2004.

The star of the spot, a 16-year old girl who became pregnant at age 14, mentions that having a baby keeps her from "being what she wants to be" at this stage in her life. The spot continues to appear on Fox 61 during programs that teens watch.

"Not for Girls Only" 
A close-up of a crying baby. Statistics showing the high rates of births to Hartford teens. Then the surprise: the camera pulls back and it’s a teen boy holding the baby. The message: teen pregnancy affects more than teen girls. This public service announcement, which was a runner-up in Breaking the Cycle's student PSA contest, was written by Hartford Public High School students Nebiat Kidane, Dieu To and Lakrisha Wright. 

Filmed and edited by students in cooperation with Fox 61 Student News, the spot is narrated by author Nebiat Kidane and features Xavier Santana, a student at Hartford Public High School and a member of the Postponing Sexual Involvement Program. The crying baby is actually a computer-simulated infant called a "Baby Think it Over", which was loaned for the project by the Health Education Department at Bulkeley High School. Bulkeley purchased the Baby Think it Over with the prize money they received for their participation in Breaking the Cycle’s Student PSA contest. 

The spot aired on Fox 61 during May and June 2000, on programs watched by teen males, including Home Improvement, The Simpsons, PJ's, MAD TV and Xena. A Spanish version of the spot aired on Channel 13 TV during the fall of 2000. If you would like to view a videotape of the PSA, call (860) 236-4872.

"Choose Wisely" 
There are many messages teens may choose to ignore, but when it comes to pregnancy prevention, it’s important to listen and to make wise choices. That is the message of the winning television public service announcement from Breaking the Cycle’s Student Design-a-PSA Contest. The PSA was designed by Hartford Public High School senior Ruth Nelson, whose 30-second entry was chosen as the grand prize-winner from a total of 198 that were submitted for judging.

The Hartford contest was inspired by a national one run in 1998 by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, the Kaiser Family Foundation and NBC as part of its "The More You Know" public service campaign. The contest was co-sponsored NBC 30 Connecticut.

The contest was open to middle and high school students in the Hartford Public Schools, and involved over 1500 youth and their teachers in thinking about, discussing and developing teen pregnancy prevention messages. A panel of judges that included students, business, media and pregnancy prevention experts, rated the entries and selected Nelson’s spot as the winner. Nelson received a $500 savings bond for her winning entry. Prizes were also awarded for the winning spot from each participating school, and the schools received $1,000 in prize money from local contest sponsors for the purchase of computer or video-rated equipment.

The PSA was launched on Connecticut television stations during Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month in May 1999, and also appeared during the Rikki Lake and Montel Williams talk shows. Copies of the PSA are available upon request from community groups by calling (860) 236-4872.

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