Pubdate: Wed, 22 May 2002
Source: New York Daily News (NY)
Column: Music Critic At Large
Copyright: 2002 Daily News, L.P.
Contact:  http://www.nydailynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/295
Author: David Hinckley
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/campaign.htm (ONDCP Media Campaign)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/walters.htm (Walters, John)

GOV'T MESSAGES ON DRUGS LECTURE US FROM ON HIGH

I find neither drugs nor terrorism especially funny. But I have to confess 
that when the government rolled out its new anti-drug campaign on the Super 
Bowl telecast this year, the ad spots that say you shouldn't use drugs 
because they finance terrorism, I burst out laughing.

So I was glad to hear John Walters, President Bush's drug czar, say last 
week that in his view, government anti-drug spots have been about as 
effective as "Reefer Madness."

Unfortunately, it turns out that what Walters didn't like was the previous 
anti-drug campaign, which featured Mary J. Blige, the Dixie Chicks, Chuck D 
and Christina Aguilera.

Walters thinks the new ones are exactly what we need.

Oh, dear.

The problem with the new spots starts with the tone, which is the one 
grownups take when they want kids to just shut up and do what they're told. 
Grownups have used this tone for thousands of admonitions, from "You'll go 
blind" to "Just say no," and the impact has always been the same. Kids say, 
"Yeah, yeah," and do what they want.

The second problem is that the message is silly, and kids know it. Do some 
drug sales fund reprehensible activities? Of course. So do some oil 
profits. Osama Bin Laden is a billionaire because his family builds things 
for Saudi Arabian rulers who make so much money from our love of 
gas-guzzling motorcars.

But our government isn't buying ads on the Super Bowl to warn us that every 
time we fill 'er up, we finance terrorism - and while obviously there are 
larger and more complex issues with oil, that's also true with drugs.

Walters argues that the drug/terrorism spots are effective because they get 
your attention. The trouble is what they do with your attention once they 
have it, and my guess is they cause it to giggle.

Remember the last in-your-face anti-drug campaign, the one with the fried 
egg captioned "your brain on drugs"?

There's a record shop in Jersey where the owner has two baseball team 
logos. Over the Yankees logo is the legend "This is your brain." Over the 
Mets logo is the legend "This is your brain on drugs."

People are so much more creative than the government, and at a fraction of 
the cost.

Of course, we should provide honest information to young people on drugs, 
smoking, drinking, sex and all the other temptations of adolescence. But 
when they start laughing, they usually stop listening.
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MAP posted-by: Beth