Pubdate: Fri, 20 Oct 2006 Source: Houston Chronicle (TX) Copyright: 2006 Houston Chronicle Publishing Company Division, Hearst Newspaper Contact: http://www.chron.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/198 Author: Cynthia Leonor Garza SCHOOLS RECRUIT RUDE RABBIT TO DETER YOUTHS FROM DRUGS Popular Bunny's Negative Attitude May Reach a Wider Audience, They Say It's cute and always happy, but it's this bunny's big attitude and messages like, "You're ugly and that's sad" that have won over scores of teens, "tweens" and even adults around the globe. "It's Happy Bunny" -- the pop icon whose smiling face and snarky messages appear on everything from T-shirts to key chains, lunch boxes and even toilet paper -- will now channel its scorn to vices that tempt youth: drugs, alcohol and cigarettes. The Partnership for a Drug-Free Texas commissioned the bunny's award-winning illustrator, Jim Benton, to create a new series of public service messages deriding substance abuse. The national Partnership for a Drug-Free America has used caricatures and famous people in the past to promote the anti-drug message. But this is the first use of a popular illustrated character for anti-drug resource materials, said Paul Costiglio, deputy director of public affairs for the Partnership for a Drug-Free America. Officials expect the bunny to win instant credibility among hard-to-reach youths. Appealing to students The bunny campaign debuts in Texas schools this month, coinciding with national Red Ribbon Week, which runs Oct. 23-31 every year. The weeklong anti-drug campaign honors the memory of Drug Enforcement Administration agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena, who was tortured and murdered by Mexico City drug traffickers in 1985. "We always try to create messages that are credible and use mediums that are credible with kids, and a lot of times that can be hard," Partnership for a Drug-Free Texas Director Chris Sharman said. Schools are the easiest place to reach youths, but educators sometimes resist edgier ideas or indirect messages and refuse to display posters. "It's really a 50-50 chance" the bunny campaign will succeed with youths, said 11-year-old Kourtney Spriggins, who attended a rally in Austin on Thursday with 10 other members of the Missouri City Middle School Teens Against Drugs. They joined students from across the state in donning bunny T-shirts at the annual Red Ribbon Rally at the Capitol. International celebrity Spriggins isn't a bunny fan, but she said plenty of her schoolmates are. "If that bunny says mean things on clothes, that's not really a good influence," Spriggins said. Still, "I think kids mostly pay attention to negative things." The campaign's first messages target alcohol, smoking and methamphetamine use. One message has the gleeful bunny spreading this bit of wisdom: "Drugs. The perfect choice for kids who want to be stupid but weren't born that way." Another says: "Meth. Finally a simple way to become a twitchy idiot in no time." This is the bunny's first foray into the public service announcement business, Benton said. He created the character a decade ago, but it didn't get marketed for a few years because "nobody got the joke," Benton said. Once specialty stores that target teens began carrying the merchandise, "It's Happy Bunny" took off. The character is licensed to more than 60 manufactures in the U.S. and Canada, and products can be found at Hot Topic, Claire's, Sears, J.C. Penney and Kohl's, among others. The bunny's products are also sold in Latin America, Europe and Australia, and plans are in the works to spread the message to Asia. Scholastic Inc.'s line of "It's Happy Bunny" books are among the top sellers at major bookstores. "Some people don't get that it's a goof, or some people think that everything is representative of something else," said Benton, who also writes the bunny's quips. "You really have to know the difference between right and wrong to get it. It's Happy Bunny says the things you're thinking but don't say." Benton said he gets fan mail from teachers who use bunny items to reward students. Grabbing attention Teachers who are less familiar with the bunny have had mixed reactions, Sharman said. "Once it's explained to them, that the message is not for them but for the kids, we found a lot of acceptance," he said. "Using this character and his cutting humor, hopefully we'll grab their attention and they'll get the subtext," Sharman said. The messages were crafted to be funny but not preachy and to get across the point "that you're paying for these things," Benton said. "I think their family and friends have all the influence on them, but this might put a little notion in their head." The state partnership, which works with the national organization with the same name, has printed a limited 400,000 stickers and 200,000 posters because of budget and trademark reasons. Officials hope retailers will order more drug-free bunny items on their own to sell in their shops. Although the bunny is hip and above all, self-centered, its dissing of alcohol and drugs is true to the bunny's character, Benton said. "Bunny can find the bad in anything." - --- MAP posted-by: Elaine