White House to End Drugs & Terror Ads

Discussion in 'Marijuana News' started by RMJL, Apr 2, 2003.

  1. White House to End Drugs & Terror Ads
    Also Stops Study That Found Campaign Wasn't Working


    April 01, 2003, Advertizing Age

    By Ira Teinowitz

    WASHINGTON (AdAge.com) -- The White House anti-drug office will end its
    controversial drugs-and-terror advertising campaign and, in a reversal,
    shift more of its $150 million budget toward children's media as it fights
    for Congress to extend the program another five years.

    The Office of National Drug Control Policy will also cease a polarizing $8
    million annual study that found the ads aimed at youth were not working and
    that pitted the drug office against the Partnership for a Drug-Free America.

    The drugs-and-terror campaign first broke five months after the Sept. 11
    attacks, with two Super Bowl ads that cost the drug office more than $3
    million to run. The spots centered on the idea that people who purchase
    drugs help fund terrorism. One ad showed a shopping list that includes an
    AK-47 rifle. "Where do terrorists get their money?" said the voice-over.
    "If you buy drugs, some of it might come from you." Later ads replaced
    "terrorism" with "terror," suggesting drug buys supported drug-cartel
    attacks on innocent civilians.

    Ogilvy & Mather controversy

    The ads were controversial not only because of their message, but because
    of the way they were produced. While almost all White House Office of
    National Drug Control Policy creative comes from the Partnership, the
    terrorism ads were produced outside the Partnership by the drug office's
    agency, WPP Group's Ogilvy & Mather.

    The Partnership said the ads were off-strategy and refused to do any of the
    spots. Partnership Vice Chairman Allen Rosenshine, chairman-CEO of Omnicom
    Group's BBDO Worldwide, ripped the campaign in a congressional hearing.

    Spending cuts

    The battle, coming to a drug office already wounded by complaints over
    Ogilvy's initial stewardship of the account, bolstered congressional
    critics who tried to cut spending dramatically. They eventually reduced it
    by about $25 million to about $150 million.

    Legislation to continue the program is expected to soon be proposed by a
    bipartisan group of senators. Reps. Mark Souder, R-Ind., chairman of the
    Government Reform panel, and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said last week that it
    would likely include language limiting the drug office's ability to go
    outside the Partnership for creative and also language that could require
    the drug office to rebid the contract won last year by Ogilvy.





    http://www.adage.com/news.cms?newsId=37504
     
  2. It's about time, I don't know anhone who actually believed those things.
     
  3. OK..... Lets see now......

    Our highly educated leaders decided, after about a year, that the commercials weren't working. And they decided that they would save us tax-payers a few million dollars. YET, it sounds like they are going to keep up their "War on Drugs" which has gone on for DECADES, and cost our government BILLIONS of dollars, and has ruined THOUSANDS of lives. Will the lawmakers ever realise that they are doing so much more harm to drug offenders thanthe drugs are?
     
  4. Of course not, that would make sense and be the logical course of action, so it's obviously not an option for now, and most likely not anytime soon.
     
  5. HPS and MH light sales went up like 1000% an cause everybody be growin they had cash to buy mad glassware, and those fucks decided they need to go after pipes and bongs and roachclips.

    At least we won't have to see that stupid shit every 10 minutes. I'd wish they go back to the egg in the fryin pan "this is your brain on drugs" thing cause at least it's more entertaining and nobody believes the "my brain=an egg" thing anyways.

    PEace
     

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