Source:   Washington Post
Contact:  http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/edit/letters/letterform.htm
Pubdate:  Friday, January 9, 1998
Author:  Maria Elena Fernandez, Washington Post Staff Writer 

WASHINGTON A TEST MARKET FOR ANTI-DRUG ADS 

The woman in the commercial smashes an egg to show what a brain on drugs
looks like, then claims the yolk dripping from the frying pan is what a
body on drugs feels like. Then she goes on a rampage breaking plates and
glasses, declaring: "This is what your family goes through."

The television ad -- part of a $195 million anti-drug advertising campaign
launched by the White House and aimed at America's youth -- was one of four
spots previewed yesterday by 200 fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders at
Lafayette Elementary School in Northwest Washington. The fast-paced,
thought-provoking ads, which began airing on local television stations in
Washington last night, will be viewed locally in 11 other cities before
they are shown nationally in June.

The goal of the five-year campaign is to encourage adults to talk openly
with children about illegal substances and to stir children to talk with
their peers about drugs, said Barry R. McCaffrey, White House national drug
policy director.

"I thought [the advertisement] was kind of strange, and it caught my eye
because it was interesting," said Aaron Laporte, 11, one of the awestruck
sixth-graders who watched the ad in the school auditorium. "It's saying,
`Don't take drugs, because they hurt your body.' "

For the next four months, television, radio, newspapers, magazines and the
Internet will be saturated with the spots. The plan is for them to reach
each Washington resident at least four times a week. McCaffrey's office has
chosen 16 schools in the Washington area to test the effectiveness of the ads.

"We now have a different generation of parents who have used illegal drugs
but are trying to sort out what message they are going to send to their
children," McCaffrey said. "And the other problem is that we have stopped
talking to our children. With this effort, we are organizing ourselves most
effectively to talk to our children."

Officials said they chose to open the campaign at Lafayette because of the
diverse student population and the school's comprehensive third-grade
anti-drug program.

"Who would have thought that the day would come when this great country
would have to devote millions of dollars to send a message to our youth
that they must reject illegal drugs?" said Principal Sandra Bond, who said
she hoped her pupils would be enlightened by the ads.

The other advertisements sampled at Lafayette focused on adult mentoring,
positive peer pressure and the courage to say no.

"They're lively, and that will make a lot of kids pay attention," said Nick
Rapp, 11, the school's student body president. "Drugs are just really bad,
and nobody should take them, and nobody should offer them. That's what
those commercials are saying."

For the campaign's first phase, McCaffrey said, the White House selected
cities that are large media markets and that have diverse populations and
drug-related crime. The ads will appear in the next three weeks in San
Diego; Atlanta; Baltimore; Boise, Idaho; Denver; Hartford, Conn.; Houston,
Milwaukee, Portland, Ore.; Sioux City, Iowa; and Tucson.

"The biggest threat we have in this country is adolescent use of marijuana,
drugs and alcohol," McCaffrey said. "Those are the gateways to compulsive
behaviors in adulthood. We believe that if you can make it to age 18
without trying drugs, you will never have a drug problem."

"And you will do well in school," added Nick. "A lot of kids don't get the
message that drugs don't let you concentrate."

© Copyright 1998 The Washington Post Company