Pubdate: Fri, 12 Feb 1999
Source: PR Newswire
Copyright: 1999 PR Newswire

PUBLIC EDUCATION WITH A TWIST: OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL 
POLICY REACHES YOUTH IN UNCONVENTIONAL WAYS

ONDCP's National Media Campaign Sponsors Live Webcast Of Silverchair Concert

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to reach America's
young people with important anti-drug messages, the Office of National
Drug Control  Policy's (ONDCP) National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign
today announced its  sponsorship of seven online concerts on the World
Wide Web, scheduled to take  place over the next several months. The
first concert, featuring popular  Australian rock band Silverchair,
will be held on Monday, February 15th at 8:00  p.m. EST.  All of the
concerts will be broadcast at http://www.sonicnet.com.

"In order to truly be successful in reducing youth drug use in
America, we realize that we have to reach children and teens in new
and unexpected ways," said John Hale, Deputy Director of ONDCP's Media
Campaign. "We recognize that  many of the old ways of conducting
public education campaigns are no longer  effective, and that the
Internet is an invaluable tool for reaching people.  Today's
sponsorship is representative not only of the media campaign's larger 
interactive strategy but also of our overall dedication to delivering
positive  messages through all effective mediums. Sponsoring online
concerts is just one  way we are creatively engaging America's young
people and helping them to understand the realities of drug use."

In order to maximize the effectiveness of the sponsorship, a online
mechanism has been developed exclusively for ONDCP.  The mechanism
opens a new browser  window and serves as the gateway to the concert.
It delivers eight different anti-drug messages on a rotating basis.
This area also provides a link to  ProjectkNOw, ONDCP's teen targeted
site, as well as band information and a link  to ONDCP's online
celebrity musician public service announcements. Once they  have
passed through the ONDCP gateway, concert goers will be able to watch
the band perform live on their computer screens. SOURCE  Office of
National Drug Control Policy
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MAP posted-by: Patrick Henry