These Old 'Star Wars' PSAs About Drunk Driving and Smoking are Amazing
Mos Eisley Cantina may be a wretched hive of scum and villainy, but at least it’s not filled with drunk drivers.
Way back in 1979, creator George Lucas was still learning to deal with the unexpected success of Star Wars, and the marketing and merchandising opportunities that the acclaim and box office popularity presented. Many of the products from that time are now treasured: Early toys made by Kenner are now collectors’ items and campy/awful TV specials have become beloved artifacts. On the other hand, a series of public service announcements (including the one embedded above) have largely been forgotten.
The clip is a quick 38 second TV spot commissioned by the United States Department of Transportation, which features familiar alien characters carousing in the spaceport’s bar. But when a Talz patron is clearly too sauced to fly home, a responsible Duros offers its furry friend a ride home — a thoughtful act that keeps the skies clear of any out-of-control ships.
If you look closely at the end, you can see the copyright mark of Black Falcon, Ltd., the short-lived subsidiary of Lucasfilm that was meant to deal with merchandising — a mark that makes this spot even more unique and rare.
Even before the drunk driving PSA, there was this 1978 spot promoting childhood immunizations — C-3PO is obviously programmed to worry about everything.
And in 1983, this fantastic anti-smoking PSA found C-3PO lecturing R2-D2 on the dangers of cigarettes — even if C-3PO doesn’t have a heart, as his droid friend so cruelly points out.
