5.7   Lesson 7: Merits of the Media Campaign to Date

Several intermediate findings suggest some short-term successes of the Media Campaign to date, including the following:

• Although younger youth often laughed about some of the anti-drug ads, they did admit the ads captured their attention and that they learned something from them.
• Focus groups with middle school and high school students often served as opportunities for youth to discuss freely the drug problem in their community and to react candidly to the ads they had seen on television, heard on radio, or seen on billboards. Although the reaction was mixed among middle school students, many youth in this age bracket admitted they thought the ads would help some of them. They, along with high school students, agreed the ads would be most effective with children in elementary grades.
• Parents generally supported the messages of the ads and stated that the ads had made them face the reality of youth drug use in their own communities.

The Media Campaign ads are viewed as a step in the right direction because they help communities to focus their local prevention efforts.