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National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign
Phase 1 (Report No. 1)
Exhibit 2-4
Percentage of Ads Targeted to Various Drugs by Site
The following are descriptions of scheduled Media Campaign ads as well as some additional ads being considered for broadcast.
911 -- This ad shows a solid black screen with various messages and emergency telephone numbers flashing across in white. The soundtrack has the voice of a young woman who has dialed 911 and is frantically pleading with an ambulance dispatcher to send help for a male friend who has overdosed on methamphetamine.
Alex/Straight A's -- This ad begins with a close-up shot of a white male teenager who is speaking with a New York accent. He explains that "...Marijuana cost me a lot of things..." and that he was "...always a good kid..." but that he has abused marijuana, been thrown out of his house, and is now a "loser."
Burbs -- This ad depicts a young, white boy skateboarding down the sidewalk of a typical suburban cul-de-sac. The adult male narrator says, "...Studies show that 40% of youth marijuana use occurs in the city. [Long pause.} Did you ever wonder where the other 60% is occurring?" The youth then hops off his skateboard and joins his buddy who is sitting on the ground near some bushes smoking marijuana. His buddy offers to share the marijuana cigarette; the skateboarder accepts and then proceeds to smoke it.
Ceiling Tiles -- This ad shows a view of white ceiling tiles from the vantage point of a hospital bed which, the ad implies, is where one would end up after abusing certain substances.
Deal -- An off-camera male voice is heard offering drugs to a young, primary-school aged African American youth on a playground after school. The boy forcefully responds "no" several times. Then the boy's father appears on the scene and congratulates his son for the way he handled this staged, role-playing situation. They then walk off together.
Drowning (ES) -- An adolescent white girl is sitting on the bed in her room and literally begins drowning from a deluge of water pouring down from the ceiling. As the water fills the room, the adult male narrator compares the practice of "sniffing" with drowning and argues that the chemicals ingested while sniffing provide a sensation mistaken for a "high" but which is, in fact, a result of reduced oxygen flow to the brain. The ad ends with the girl's bedroom filling with water and the girl, about to drown, attempting to escape by opening a skylight window.
Everclear -- Members of the Everclear band are standing facing the camera in this ad as Art Alexaxis, a 34-year-old band member, explains that he wasted 14 years of his life abusing drugs and that, as a result, he now has a chemical imbalance that he will have to endure for the rest of his life. He says that using drugs was stupid and advises against becoming "...another rock 'n roll cliché."
Free Ride -- This black and white ad features a scene with an apparently wealthy African American couple driving a sporty car through their neighborhood, while the male narrator explains that some people would describe a life of drug dealing as a "free ride." Tthe camera then shows a birds-eye view of a parked car. A young African American woman with a baby in her arms is sitting in the passenger seat. The woman and baby are shown through the cross-hairs of a gun-scope which is aimed at a man leaning into the car window to talk to the woman. The man moves to the side and the ad ends with the a view of the gun aimed at the baby.
Frying Pan -- This black and white ad features a young white adult female who smashes an egg [which she uses to symbolize a brain] with a frying pan to illustrate the effect of using drugs. She then proceeds to smash dishes, a clock, and most of the contents of a kitchen with the frying pan to illustrate the damaging effect of heroin use on the user's health, friends, and ultimately entire life. When she finishes destroying everything in site, she says "Any questions?" as she stares into the camera.
Girl Interview -- An off-camera adult female voice is heard asking a 5- or 6-year-old white girl sitting in a classroom several questions, such as how the girl should respond is she is approached by a stranger and what to do if she sees a friend playing with matches. The interviewer, impressed by her answers, then asks the child how she knows so much. She responds, "My mommy told me." The interviewer then asks her what her mommy has told her about drugs, and the girl's response is a blank stare.
Girlfriend -- This as is a close-up of an African American girl who is talking about her brother's struggle with the temptations of using and dealing drugs and the violence associated with the drug culture. The girl says that she wants no part of that lifestyle and that she wants to be a teacher. Voice-over narration by an adult female closes the ad by saying "Girlfriend...you are beautiful."
Lauryn Hill -- Fugees band member, Lauryn Hill, stands on a city sidewalk in this ad, wearing yellow-tinted sunglasses. She explains that as she enters motherhood she does not want to have drugs in her life.
Layla -- A Latina teenager is featured in this ad talking about how she started out using marijuana and alcohol but that eventually these drugs were not enough. Marijuana and alcohol served as an "open door" for her to other harder substances, such as PCP, and angel dust. She concludes by saying that using these drugs "...was stupid."
Long Way Home -- This black and white ad narrated by an off-screen adult male portrays a primary school-aged African American child named " Kevin Scott," who appears to be running home from school and trying to elude a drug dealer and other negative influences on the street. The ad ends with the off-screen narrator advising Kevin and other youth like him to "...never give up."
Noses (ES) -- This ad is a cartoon narrated by Monty Python alumnus Eric Idle who has humorous names for different kinds of noses, including "Schnoz," "Ski Slope," and "Booger Factory." The accompanying animation illustrates all of these characterizations of the nose. The narrator then admonishes against sniffing chemicals, while corresponding animation depicts a nose tied to a brain with a river of toxic/poisonous substances (depicted as skull and crossbones icons) flowing into the nose. The ad ends with a drawing of a coffin, suggesting the "the brain" died.
Not Your Friend (S) -- This ad depicts a male Latino teenager aggressively encouraging a younger Latino boy to smoke marijuana. The younger boy refuses by firmly saying "no" several times and then walking away.
O'Connor -- In this ad, a camera pans a generic living room complete with framed pictures of a teenage male, as Carroll O'Connor (a.k.a. "Archie Bunker" of the television show All in the Family) describes how his son got involved with drugs and subsequently ended his life. He advises "...Get between drugs and your kids any way you can...if you want to save the kid's life."
Play-By-Play -- This ad illustrates how a suburban, white, pre-teenage boy declines an offer of drugs on the street. The boy's "moves" are illustrated on-screen by a TV sports chalkboard method. Two adult male "sportscasters" are heard as voice-overs describing the boy's play-by-play moves to elude the drug offer.
Pot Head -- This ad, a cartoon narrated by actor John Cleese, shows a scraggly male head getting hit repeatedly with a pot while the narrator describes the "head" as becoming "stupider and stupider."
Questions (S) -- This ad depicts different youth on the street using different types of drugs. The camera focuses on one of these youth being covered by a sheet as he lies dead on the ground. The ad concludes with a woman holding a photo of a child, possibly her own, who died of a drug overdose.
Right of Passage (ES) -- This ad features a Latina teenager named "Maria" who walks through city streets where several individuals tempt her with drugs. A friend who has been waiting for her gives her a big hug at the end of her walk. The ad implies that she has once again withstood the temptation to use drugs.
Sublime -- This ad features the wife of Brad Nowell, the late lead singer and bandleader for the pop-ska band Sublime who died of a heroin overdose. She is holding their young child who is reciting his ABC's in a sing-song fashion and saying that both she and the baby miss Brad very much; she advises "...don't let anyone miss you."
Teeth -- This black-and-white ad depicts the effects of heroin on a young white woman, possibly a model, who slowly morphs into what she might look like, says the narrator, if she were to continue using the drug. Her overall appearance deteriorates, her face becomes pale and extremely bony, her eyes become dull, and her hair thins and loses its luster. Finally, she removes her false teeth.
Under Your Nose (ES) -- The camera pans the contents of a generic household's kitchen cabinets and cupboards to reveal all of the household products which, advises the male narrator, might be products children are using to sniff and "get high." The narrator recommends that parents talk to their children about drug abuse, paying particular attention to those household products that have always been "right under your nose."
Unnatural Acts (S) -- Several pairs of animals are shown in the wild behaving as they normally would. Toward the end of the ad the camera focuses on a yound girl who looks very sad and lonely.
