This Harrowing PSA Tells the Same Story Twice About a Teenager's Very Bad Day

The teenager in McCann Health's intense new PSA supporting the Center for Adolescent Research & Education is having a shockingly bad day. Left at home to his own devices, things quickly go downhill. We watch with increasing concern as he grows disoriented and stumbles around the house, vomits, struggles for breath, crashes through a glass table, and passes out on the floor. But if you think you know what's going on, you might be in for a surprise. After 30 seconds, the spot—shot from the subject's point of view for maximum impact—"rewinds," telling the exact same story from an expanded perspective. This provides vivid insight into a pressing problem facing many families today. [kickout id="1"] That's right: The young man abused prescription medication he found lying around the house and suffered the shocking, potentially fatal consequences. "McCann Health delivered a very confrontational idea to open people's eyes and the address the issue of prescription drug abuse that would not only educate young people but parents as well," CARE president Stephen Gray Wallace tells AdFreak. "This film does more than expose what we are missing at home, but clearly lays out the environment in which it happens." Stats flashed on screen near the ad's conclusion underscore the importance of creating a drug-safe home. They note that average daily prescription-abuse deaths in the U.S. total nearly 300, outpacing suicides and drunk driving fatalities by factors of about two and 10, respectively. "Most adults don't realize their prescription drugs were being left about the house in the open and unsecured, almost waiting to be abused," says McCann Health global creative chief Jeremy Perrott. To illustrate that point, the agency "took the filmic point of view that you, the viewer, were, in fact, the abuser, showing what it would be like to be the actual person going through the experience and suffering the consequence," he says. Indeed, that approach yields an especially potent and memorable PSA. At times, it's tough to watch, which is exactly what McCann had in mind. "This film resonates because so many will relate to a very similar personal experience," says Perrott. "Insights were also drawn from the director and others in the film crew and our agency who have personal life experience in dealing with either losing a loved one, or saving one, or even recovering [themselves] from this dreadful killer's tentacles." Achieving realism with the cameras rolling can be difficult, and for one key sequence, Great Guns director David Hartley improvised to get the desired effect. "The glass table was one of two made for the shoot," Perrott recalls. "It was designed to shatter on impact and made from sugar water. To create the reality point-of-view effect, the camera was mounted at mouth level, on a specially built rig attached to a face mask on a helmet." The first header into the table wasn't usable, because the stunt performer wearing the camera rig instinctively attempted to break his fall and ruined the shot. "This was fine and totally understandable," says Perrott. "However, this wasn't Hollywood, and we didn't have the luxury of a stack of sugar-water tables to rehearse on. We only had one left. So, on a dummy-run rehearsal of capturing the move, the director surprised the stunt man, causing him to react and crash convincingly into the table. What we have is a real table smash! Great shot, great action, and reality at its best!" CREDITS McCann Health Global Chief Creative Officer: Jeremy Perrott Agency: McCann Health NY Director: David Hartley Production Company: Great Guns Executive Producer: Laura Gregory/ Clarissa Troop Producers: Mathew Alden and Ollie Perrin DOP: Max Witting Art Director: Katherine Trigg Stunt Coordinator: Gary Arthur Editor: Mitch Kalisa Post Production: Unit Talent: Katie Pattinson and Adam Pritchard

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This Harrowing PSA Tells the Same Story Twice About a Teenager's Very Bad Day

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David Gianatasio