Richard Sears of Synthetic directed this two-spot campaign for Women’s Fund of Mississippi and The Ramey Agency designed to drive teens to a site which dispels myths about sex, including such matters as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and birth control.
In the “Pregnancy” PSA, we see the places where high schoolers go to avoid adult supervision–first a now empty hotel room as a supered graphic reads, “You can’t get pregnant your first time,” followed by a resounding “False.” Then there’s a backyard swimming pool where the misnomer that chlorine prevents STDs is dispelled. The camera next takes us to a bonfire in the woods accompanied by the inaccuracy that birth control pills stop STDs. Then we see a parked car with the sound of a couple laughing inside. “I can pull out in time,” reads a super, followed by the myth buster “False.”
An end tag and voiceover urge viewers to separate fact from fiction and to log onto FactNotFiction.com.
No people are seen in the spot–just the locations where private couplings can happen. The character-rich locations allow for a raw and gritty look reminiscent of Mississippi’s iconic photographer William Eggleston.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that Mississippi’s teen birth rate (55 per 1,000 teens) is nearly double the national average (34.3 per 1,000 teens). In spite of school-based education programs, the Centers for Disease Control reports 58% of all Mississippi high schoolers (9th-12th grade) are sexually active and 35% did not use a condom when they last had sex. It’s statistics such as these that motivated director Sears to be a part of the FactNotFiction.com PSA campaign.
“The law of the land in Mississippi allows for contraception education, and the goal of these PSAs is to equip parents and students to ensure a complete school health program is available,” said Sears. The campaign is airing with some resistance, however, in a conservative southern state where women’s health issues and sex education are the center of controversial debates. Carol Penick, executive director of the Women’s Fund of Mississippi said, “We are in no way encouraging the teens in our state to have sex. However, if a teen does choose to have sex, we simply want them to be able to make an educated decision–and to fully understand the risks involved.”
Utah Leaders and Locals Rally To Keep Sundance Film Festival In The State
With the 2025 Sundance Film Festival underway, Utah leaders, locals and longtime attendees are making a final push — one that could include paying millions of dollars — to keep the world-renowned film festival as its directors consider uprooting.
Thousands of festivalgoers affixed bright yellow stickers to their winter coats that read "Keep Sundance in Utah" in a last-ditch effort to convince festival leadership and state officials to keep it in Park City, its home of 41 years.
Gov. Spencer Cox said previously that Utah would not throw as much money at the festival as other states hoping to lure it away. Now his office is urging the Legislature to carve out $3 million for Sundance in the state budget, weeks before the independent film festival is expected to pick a home for the next decade.
It could retain a small presence in picturesque Park City and center itself in nearby Salt Lake City, or move to another finalist — Cincinnati, Ohio, or Boulder, Colorado — beginning in 2027.
"Sundance is Utah, and Utah is Sundance. You can't really separate those two," Cox said. "This is your home, and we desperately hope it will be your home forever."
Last year's festival generated about $132 million for the state of Utah, according to Sundance's 2024 economic impact report.
Festival Director Eugene Hernandez told reporters last week that they had not made a final decision. An announcement is expected this year by early spring.
Colorado is trying to further sweeten its offer. The state is considering legislation giving up to $34 million in tax incentives to film festivals like Sundance through 2036 — on top of the $1.5 million in funds already approved to lure the Utah festival to its neighboring... Read More