Growing up in the 80’s, the most profound anti-drug messages were relayed to me through those kids wearing D.A.R.E. t-shirts, the “I learned it from watching you!” spot and a few brave episodes of Diff’rent Strokes and The Cosby Show.
Whether they were effective or not is another story, but with the web at our disposal these days, there are easier, better produced ways to warn the kids today about the dangers of drugs. Take this “Xperiment” site for the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, for instance. Developed by DraftFCB Toronto, Rune Entertainment and Jam3Media, the site introduces us to a dismembered eyeball named Earl.
Visitors to the site can feed Earl a few different drugs including marijuana, cocaine and ecstasy then choose from different effects to watch the poor floating organ suffer. The creative parties involved seemed to have covered all the bases, from the dark-lit street scene and the ominous music to the cool drug lingo. Sealing the deal though is the unusually chipper narrator who, for example, spouts hip references to Solid Gold over generic beats as Earl ingests some E. If that doesn’t reach the youth of today, nothing will.
More: “If it Bleeds, It Saves Lives”