Public information films (aka PIFs) are a series of government commissioned short films, shown during television advertising breaks in the UK. The US equivalent is the public service announcements (PSAs). The films advised the public on what to do in a multitude of situations ranging from crossing the road to surviving a nuclear attack. They are sometimes thought to only concern topics related to safety, but there are PIFs on many other subjects, including animal cruelty, protecting the environment, crime prevention and how to vote in an election or fill in a census form.