When it comes to drug use, some public service announcements try scaremongering or preachiness, or a combination of both, to make their case. (Remember the sizzling egg in a pan from "this is your brain on drugs"?)
But a new PSA about driving while high skips right over fear and goes straight to humor.
The video's hero, a young man first seen smiling in a haze of smoke, is asked to chop a pineapple by his girlfriend. He imagines the dangerous hijinks that would ensue and politely replies, "Nope, I'm high. How 'bout I wash off the grapes?" He comes to a similar conclusion when she proposes driving to get tacos and he can't even catch the car keys she tosses his way.
"If You Feel Different, You Drive Different" is the product of a partnership between the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Ad Council. The administration's research has shown a large increase in the percentage of weekend nighttime drivers testing positive for cannabis use. While it's unclear what level of cannabis use leads to poor driving, operating a vehicle while impaired by any substance is illegal — and not worth the risk, according to the campaign.
The video was created pro bono by Reprise Digital. The marketing agency said in a statement published Tuesday that it aimed to treat viewers with "respect, humor, and empathy."
Now that's the kind of PSA that has a good shot at winning over (high) hearts and minds.
Topics Cannabis Health Social Good
