|
|
|
While the issue of drinking and driving has garnered widespread recognition through ongoing public awareness campaigns, the Partnership for a Drug-Free Canada (PDFC) is attempting to alert the public to the twin perils of non-medical use of prescription drugs by teens and teens driving under the influence of drugs.
Armed with research from a recent study by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health – which found that 20% of teens have taken a prescription drug to get high and that three quarters of them admitted to stealing the drugs from home – the PDFC has launched a bilingual awareness campaign.
Developed by BBDO Canada, the pro bono campaign includes TV, radio, print and online executions, all of which feature a call-to-action to visit the website CanadaDrugFree.org, where visitors find tools for talking to their children about the illicit use of prescription drugs.
“The reason we want to drive there is that the research we’ve seen indicates that in households where parents engage in a meaningful conversation with their teenagers, it’s 50% less likely that there will be trial,” said Marc Paris, the Toronto-based chair of the PDFC. “We see parents as the first line of defence in a drug prevention strategy.”
The 30-second TV spot “Pharmacist” opens with a pharmacist handing a prescription to an adult and giving him standard information such as when and how to take the medication, and then goes on to explain what will happen after his son steals the drugs from the medicine cabinet.
A radio spot, “The Only Thing,” opens with the sound of screeching tires and a collision before the voiceover informs listeners that the driver of the car had a variety of safety features including airbags, active head restraints and crumple zones at his disposal. “Just about the only thing Jeff didn’t have was a parent who talked to him about the dangers of drugs and driving,” says the voiceover before directing listeners to the PDFC website.
A vertical banner ad shows an extra-tall bottle of prescription drugs featuring an extensive list of names on the label, accompanied by the message “Who’s using your prescription drugs?”
“It seems like it’s totally off [parents’] radar,” said Paris. “They’re checking the liquor cabinet, but they forget to check the medicine cabinet. They have no idea in a general sense that their kids might be abusing prescription drugs.”
While the Partnership has existed in the U.S. for 25 years and has established operations in five Latin American countries, it has only been in Canada for about two years, said Paris.
The partnership is a private sector initiative that is an alliance between the media and advertising communities, with a stated goal of reducing trial of illegal drugs through what it describes as a “massive and continuous media campaign about prevention.”
