In todays media, there are so many ways to get an idea or a point across and make it well known. TV commercials , the internet, online ads, paper ads and it even goes as far as music. There are many ways that Tv, magazines and even music endorse the "anti drug" theme.
First off, there is Tv, I'm sure most of us have seen the "Above The Influence" commercials. Some of the more memorable ones are when a young girl is in her kitchen and her dog comes up to her and tells her that he wished she didn't smoke weed because she isn't the same when she smokes. Another is when a guy and a bunch of his friends are at a restaurant and they ask him to go get "twisted" and he says no, the owner is so impressed that he gives him his meal for free.
Another commercial opposing drug use is the many commercials with Olympic champions in action saying things like "Skiing is my anti drug"Chad Fleischer. Commercials like this are trying to get the point across that drugs are not cool.
A form of the Above the Influence campaign is simply this: an arrow facing up with a circle around it. This simply represents being above the influence of drugs. It is used in online and magazine ads.
Finally, there is music. Today in pop music, we hear a lot of positively promoting drug use and violence. There is however, a song that points out all of the productive things he DIDN'T do because he got high. It is the song "Because I Got High" by Afroman. The lyrics state: "I was gonna clean my room but then i got high...I was gonna go to class but then i got high....I was gonna go to court before i got high....I was gonna pay my child support but then i got high....I wasn't gonna run from the cops but i was high....I was gonna pull right over and stop but i was high...now i'm a paraplegic and i know why because i got high...I wasn't gonna gamble on the boat but then i got high...I messed up my entire life because i got high...I lost my kids and wife because i got high....now i'm sleeping on the sidewalk and i know why" The song starts out about small things he didn't do because he got high, not making it seem like a big deal, but in the middle and toward the end it shows how much of his life he screwed up because of getting high. It is almost like a metaphor like starting off with marajuanna isn't so bad, then that is the gateway for other drugs which screws up your life.
According to ABC news, Alan Levitt, director of the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign in New York, believes that network television is the most accurate of all of the mediums because "most of the time there is a negative consequence [to the drug use that is depicted], which is not true with films."A recent episode of the hit NBC drama ER, for instance, depicts the infant of one the physicians accidentally overdosing on his teenage daughter's hidden stash of the drug Ecstasy, says Howard Simon, spokesman for the Partnership for a Drug-Free America."The show highlighted the negative effects of ecstasy, and the teenager not understanding the risks," he adds. "This is something we never would have seen on TV years ago."
Even though each situation described is staged and didn't actually happen, the people are highly paid actors and musicians, they all have one thing in common, and that is to get the message across. Most of these examples all use the same anthem to try to keep kids off drugs "drugs aren't cool".
Good beginning analysis. Consider the invention and use of the logo - is such a symbol a way to generate buzz among a generation? Is the design and promotion of such a "movement" a more effective way to enlist the attention and focus of young people? Don't expand beyond the efforts associated with this group - we want you to unpack and examine the elements contained in one group's efforts. Yes, there are many groups - whether music groups or advocacy groups - who contribute to the larger conversation regarding drug policy and behavior in this country. For this assignment, just examine one such effort for its goals and strategy.
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