Pubdate: Wed, 22 Jan 2003
Source: Advertising Age (US)
Copyright: 2003 Crain Communications Inc.
Contact:  http://www.adage.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2258
Author: Ira Teinowitz
Cited: Office of National Drug Control Policy ( www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov )
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/campaign.htm (ONDCP Media Campaign)

WHITE HOUSE PLACES ANTI-DRUG SUPER BOWL ADS

Continue Campaign's Marijuana and Terror Themes

WASHINGTON (AdAge.com) -- The White House Office of National Drug Control 
Policy will run two ads during Sunday's Super Bowl broadcast, as well as 
two on the pregame show on Walt Disney Co.'s ABC.

Two of the Super Bowl spots are new work from Interpublic Group of Cos.' 
McCann-Erickson Worldwide, New York, for the Partnership for a Drug Free 
America. The ads are part of a "negative consequences" campaign meant to 
show that marijuana is not a "harmless" drug. In one spot, a 40-ish couple 
is shown looking worried about a pregnancy, but it turns out it is their 
daughter who is pregnant, who had unprotected sex after using marijuana.

Shift in direction

During last year's Super Bowl, the drug office debuted ads that suggested 
illegal drug use supports terrorism. While new ads that debuted in 
September returned to that theme, the campaign began a major shift in the 
direction as the drug office put the bulk of its budget behind discouraging 
marijuana use by young people. This is the first ad in that vein from 
McCann-Erikson; prior anti-marijuana ads were done by Publicis Groupe's Leo 
Burnett USA, Chicago.

In one of the other new Super Bowl spots, from WPP Group's Ogilvy & Mather 
Worldwide, New York, a man riding on a subway car sees the ghosts of 
victims of drug crimes who tell him the dealers were fighting about his 
money. "Drug money supports terrible things," the ad says.

While the Partnership produces most drug office ads, the first 
drugs-and-terror ads were produced by the drug office's own agency, Ogilvy, 
without any involvement by the Partnership. The Partnership has declined to 
produce terror-related ads and has questioned their success, and the latest 
ads were again produced independently by Ogilvy.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom