In the late 80s and early 90s The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were the biggest thing going in kid pop culture. There were comic books, TV shows, movies, rap songs, toys, video games, clothes, and more all part of the Ninja Turtle experience. I was ages 6-8 when The Turtles were at their apex so right in their demographic. There was something else that was part of the Ninja Turtle experience, Public Service Announcements aka PSAs. These would air during commercial breaks for the Ninja Turtle cartoon show. Here are a few examples of these PSA (article continues after the video)

Here is the thing about these PSAs, they worked! At least on me and my friends. Around that age, whenever I saw a plastic six pack holder, I made sure to cut that up into a million pieces because of that PSA and I remember some of my friends doing the same cause of the PSA. I suspect that thousands of other people in my demographic have similar stories about cutting up six pack holders or turning off the water when they brush their teeth and other lessons from these PSAs becoming habits in their life. They often seem corny, but these types of campaigns can have impacts on public beliefs and behavior. Just think about cigarettes; A generation ago smoking was commonplace, but through changing rules and regulations and public health campaigns about the dangers of cigarettes, there has been great reduction in the number of people who smoke. However, as the Saturday morning cartoons become things of the past, and children’s viewing habits are governed streaming services like Netflix , Disney Plus, and HBO Max, it does seem like we are losing places to positively brainwash future generations.