CDC's Wedding Day Survival Guide
The survival guide, found here on the CDC's Public Health Matters blog, gives tips such as "Being in the throes of wedding season, many of us here at CDC realized that planning for a wedding isn't that much different from planning for a disaster. Just remember: Get a Kit, Make a Plan, and Be Informed." The NPR blog draws a parallel from this guide to the "zombie apocalypse" guide they put out last year.
I see the benefit in giving preparedness tips to the public, drawing on a situation that many people can relate to and adding some humor. But I question whether this negatively impacts people's views of the CDC as a trusted source of public health information.
What are your thoughts? Is CDC trying to creatively promote emergency preparedness? Or do you find this to be a stretch that perhaps decreases seriousness of the CDC's guidance to promote public health?
I'm not a fan of the tone - as someone planning a wedding comparing it to planning for a disaster is not a welcome thought.
ReplyDeleteI love that they're taking risks. By branching out from traditionally authoritarian and fear-based communications, the attempts at humor (however funny they actually are) attract attention and get people outside the normal demographic talking. Disaster preparedness is not a sexy subject to promote at all. That being said, my experience writing the maternal and child health preparedness plan for Dane County, the moms I worked with would HATE this too... so I guess it depends on which audience they're intending to reach.
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