Official advice

There have been some crushingly bad government information campaigns over the years, but this latest one looks rather effective.

People have been crying out for advice on safe computing and it’s well past the time the Government should have stepped in. Like them or loath them, people generally trust Government information broadcasts because it’s the one information source that can’t really sell you anything, and so is slightly more impartial than a commercial ad campaign.

There have been some stinkers – ‘Protect and Survive’ springs to mind. Here was a campaign that advised us to survive a nuclear attack by painting the windows white and hiding under a door, which was so movingly sent up in ‘When the wind blows’. In fact it was little more than a PR campaign to make sure we died with the minimum of fuss if the hot war started. The current ‘Talk to Frank’ campaign will also be consigned to the dustbin of history, one hopes. What kind of idiot asks a 10-year-old in a silly hat for drugs advice?

But there have also been successes. ‘Clunk Click every trip’, ‘Don’t Die of Ignorance’, ‘Follow the Green Cross Code’. This latest campaign looks to be a winner too; it’s simple, easy to understand and makes good computing sense.