Concerned Children's Advertisers - Public Service Announcements - Substance Abuse Prevention

Substance Abuse Prevention

• Brain (1990): One of the very first commercials by the organization, this commercial depicts a brain made up of a series of electrical wires. A female authoritative voice tells the viewers to think about what drugs can do to people's brains, dreams, and future. An unseen person holding a pair of wire cutters is cutting up the brain's wires, showing the effect of more drugs being consumed, before it eventually short-circuits. The commercial ends with a very important message: "Think about it - while you still can." AGENCY: Cossette Communication
• Crack (1990): This brief commercial depicts a body bag on a stretcher. The same narrator from the Brain commercial tells viewers that in the past two years (1988 and 1989), over 5,000 people in Canada and the U.S. have died from using crack or cocaine. She ends the commercial saying, "Do yourself a favor... think about it". AGENCY: Cossette Communication
• Be True To You (1990): In this commercial, the narrator is a teenage boy wearing a red and black shirt, and he is meeting with three of his friends. He talks about the perceptions of teenage drug use, and his message is very clear... he wants children to make healthy decisions and do what is right for them. One of the memorable lines of this commercial is "Just because we are young doesn't mean we are stupid." AGENCY: Intergroup
• Drug Rap (1990): In this commercial, a rap song about the choices of drugs is performed by a group of children and adults. They repeat the use of the line: "Drugs, drugs, drugs... Which are good, which are bad... Drugs, drugs, drugs... Ask your mom or ask your dad”. AGENCY: McArthur, Thompson & Law
• Syringe (1990): This commercial takes place on the urban streets of Toronto at night. A rat is walking while the syringe is sucking up dirty water from a gutter. A man's voice says, "There are a lot of stories about the stuff that gets into street drugs." The syringe is tossed in the air and comes down shattering on to the concrete while the rat flees. Then the man's voice says, "So if you're afraid of what's been done to them, wait till you see what they do to you." AGENCY: FCB Canada Ltd.
• Elevator (1990): Need information. AGENCY: FCB Canada Ltd.
• No Label On Drugs (1990): Need information. AGENCY: FCB Canada Ltd.
• Interaction (1990): Need information. AGENCY: FCB Canada Ltd.
• Cocaine (1990): Need information. AGENCY: FCB Canada Ltd.
• Substance Abuse Testimonials (1990): This is a series of four commercials. The speakers of each commercial are Cynthia, Lisa, Doug, and Steve. Each of these people tell their side of the story of why they became drug addicts, and that the way they take drugs, they are hurting themselves and their families. AGENCY: Saatchi & Saatchi
• Mimic (1990): A child pretends to drink coffee and smoke cigarettes (using various items for play), while black and white images of said things are shown throughout. This shows how children can easily mimic adults, even in doing inappropriate actions such as smoking. Edited May 25, 1990. AGENCY: Highwood Communications Ltd.
• Rehab (1992): This commercial is a story about a young boy recalling about his life of using drugs and his childhood days with his brother. He is initially seen sitting inside his room in a rehab facility watching a clear view from outside. The music in the background is an old song performed by The Hollies, "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother". He walks out of his room and spots his brother visiting the facility before embracing each other. The commercial ends with a voice-over saying: "If you try to stop a friend from using drugs, you may not succeed, but at least you tried—and that's what friends are for". AGENCY: FCB Canada Ltd.
• Hip Choice (1993): This commercial begins with a text message that says "Ever Thought About Taking Drugs?". It then shows two children standing (they are latex puppets, not real people) encountering a drug pusher wearing shades in an alleyway. The drug pusher sticks out his hands showing them the drugs and tells them that they have a choice of whether they will take them or not. A flash-sequence of disturbing images of drug addicts appears when the pusher sticks out his hands. The children eventually ignore the offer and walk away from the drug pusher. The drug pusher then takes off his shades, revealing his hideous yellow eyes. There's another version of this commercial where the drug pusher doesn't take his shades off, while another rare version actually adds onto the commercial's terrifying effect, with the camera zooming in closer onto the pusher's eyes. AGENCY: YTV Canada, Inc.
• Loser (1995): This commercial takes place in an old car resembling a 1969 Ford Mustang, with four teenagers smoking pot. The commercial focuses on two of the teenagers; one, implacably a "cool" kid, and the other, the "loser". The "cool" kids recalls past activities he once enjoyed before his addiction, such as sports, while joking around with his friends, and chides the "loser" for being into different stuff. The "cool" kid then says he likes to party and that guys like the "loser" didn't know how to party. A message pops up, reading "Can you spot the losers?" The narrator then says "Truth is, there are a million things to do that are more fun than sitting around and getting stoned." AGENCY: Leo Burnett Company Ltd.
• Transactions (1995): A guitarist, presumably a street musician, is standing on a Toronto street interacting with the camera, offering the viewer several choices; you can feed your pet hamster when you're supposed to or he'll die, you can eat a ton of fries or look good in pants, and finally, "you can do drugs or you can do everything else." AGENCY: Vickers and Benson Advertising Ltd.