Apr
16
“Hallucinations” by Venables Bell & Partners
By
This ad is shocking. It’s pretty depressing to see how people destroy themselves. But I guess the shock factor is sometimes required to make a lasting impression in the audience. It’s like the Truth campaign against smoking (by Arnold and CP+B), better give shocking images and facts than taking this horrible subject in a light way.
8 Comments
April 20th, 2010 at 10:10 am
I agree that shock gets attention, but it definitely doesn’t make me feel that I should do something about it. Using scare tactics like this is a reactive response to a serious problem that should be addressed by proactive support and change. I think there are better ways to tackle this issue.
April 21st, 2010 at 11:07 am
I agree with Richard, this ad makes me go “EW” and look away, instead of “OMG why is she like that?”. In other words, I am too grossed out to be shocked into interest. However, do not get me wrong, I think shock advertising, if done correctly, can be extremely powerful in delivering a message, but the image used on this ad is just too distracting. The girl has her back turned away, she has no face, and the scratching and scars are very unpleasant looking. In no way do I want to look at the ad longer, in a different way, or read the copywriting. If I saw this in a magazine I think I would immediately flip to the next page. I guess what I am saying is there has got to be a compromise: a shocking ad that will show people the hard consequences of drug use as well as a visual that is a little less “The Hills Have Eyes”.
April 25th, 2010 at 7:46 pm
Haynes, I don’t think that the purpose of the ad was to get the general public to be proactive about the problem of heroin usage. I think it was more to shed light on the consequences of it, and discourage people from even trying it. Which I think works, I saw way too many mug shots of heroin addicts, and those transition photos of people who did meth over a long period of time in 5th grade DARE that scared the living crap out of me in some very formative years haha.
One of my fav’s- http://deadissue.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/meth-before-after.jpg
YIKESSSS
April 27th, 2010 at 10:55 am
Christina, I realize that this would scare the living daylights out of a fifth grader in a DARE session. However, meth doesn’t hit people who are in schools that have functioning DARE programs. Meth hits extremely low income areas and it is the most widely used drug in the United States. That says something. The method to help prevent this is not to scare people who see advertising. I would bet that very few potential meth users will ever be exposed to this ad. What needs to be done is to show people the very real consequences in a way that makes them want to help prevent its usage and save those who are hooked on it. Its easy to avoid the influence of meth when you aren’t ever exposed to it, but many meth users are exposed to these exact people. They see, hands on, what they turn into, but due to the severe environment in which these people live, they turn to these kinds of drugs to escape. They need proactive help, not scare tactics.
April 27th, 2010 at 9:26 pm
Haynes: I do understand that as a country we need to address the issue of illegal drug use, but that is a whole different type of conversation debate. What we are talking about here is one ad, we have no idea what city or location it was placed in.
Advertising by definition is targeted so I am sure that the creators of the spot put it somewhere it would make some sort of difference. There is no way you would see an ad like that in the suburbs, but it has to go somewhere. Its is obviously some sort of PSA work that was developed to persuade people who could be exposed meth not to use it. Just because some areas are low income does not mean they are not immune to advertising.
April 28th, 2010 at 12:12 pm
This campaign was launched in San Francisco and it’s for the Montana Meth Project.
Although I do agree with the fact that scare tactics might drive consumers away rather than
gain their attention, this campaign was ranked #5 of the top 25 effective foundations in the world,
so that demonstrates how consumers did have very strong reactions not only towards the ads itself but
towards the consumption of meth. It’s kind of scary to see how now a days certain issues will only have an
impact on people if scare tactics are used, but if the benefit is to save lives and prevent spread of diseases, then I guess it is worth it.
http://www.montanameth.org/
May 4th, 2010 at 12:21 am
To be honest when I first glanced at this post I thought it was some kind of “hip” new junkie show for MTV or VH1. Just glancing at it quickly, like I assume most non-heroine users would, I quickly just divert my eyes and think ‘oh look a trashy new show I don’t want to watch.’ I think it is a good idea to use the scare tactic to prevent people from doing drugs, but I think this ad in particular seems too much like a tv promotion, perhaps its the font or the way the camera is angled at the girls face or something? I think its a good idea and could have been effective I just dont like the creative direction for this particular shot.
May 4th, 2010 at 10:37 pm
I agree with Christina, I think that this ad is meant to discourage people from even thinking about doing meth, or to encourage people who have tried it, and are no addicted, to not do it again. Unfortunately I don’t think that even the most powerful ad would be enough to make a meth head stop their habit.