Comments on: Are drugs too miscellaneous?

By: Eric Eggertson

Eric Eggertson — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 03:55:11 +0000

What decade is that ad from? I’ve never seen it on Canadian TV, but maybe I just missed the rotation.

There’s a long tradition of badly acted PSAs in Canada, dating back to Hinterland: Who’s Who by the wildlife service, and carried on valiantly by the Canadian Heritage Minute ads which take melodrama to new levels.

By: Yule Heibel

Yule Heibel — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 05:54:56 +0000

Oh jeez, my ears are bleeding! And did you see the Maple Leaf/ Canadian flag in the credits? Their Red Rose Tea (famous commercial byline: “Only in Canada, you say?”) was spiked!

By: fp

fp — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 03:04:25 +0000

I think that should be put on a continuous loop and played loud all day, every day wherever drug factories are interested in motivating their employees. You’d want to project the video on a jumbotron on the factory floor.

All the insipid content would fall away after a few minutes and you’d be left with the refrain (”Drugs, drugs, drugs”) burning a hole in your workers’ brains.

By: David Weinberger

David Weinberger — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 01:34:24 +0000

I doubt they did any meaningful focus group work. And if they did, lord knows what they counted as success. If anything, I think this spot only creates or reinforces the impression that the distinctions among drugs are as arbitrary as mommy and daddy’s tastes. (In my and Andy’s case, Mommy had a cocktail every afternoon, and smoked until she started coughing blood. Daddy was anti-alcohol and stopped smoking in the 1950s. And if you think there’s a short story in that, you’re probably right.)

By: Andy Weinberger

Andy Weinberger — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 20:58:19 +0000

It certainly is annoying. It reinforces the miniature attention span we seem to have been developing and encouraging. The music isn’t so hot either. I’m also always annoyed by un-synched lips and speech. I have no idea if the message makes any sense to a kid, although I imagine they did focus groups (if anyone COULD focus on this ad) to see childrens’ reactions. Ugh.

By: Anthony

Anthony — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 19:51:53 +0000

Drugs are a way of life for most people, if you include alcohol & nicotine. Most drugs are made to help us but are used recreationally to alter our state of mind, and it is there misuse that really destroys lives. If you like to drink or get stoned once in a while, i don’t think there is much harm in that, but if you smoke and drink everyday then your life may be short lived. There is a saying i like from the movie ‘knocked up’ that i personally believe to be true, it goes- “No pills, No powder, if grows in the ground its probably ok” Ultimately if your gunna do it, be sensible and do it in moderation.

By: Persephone Miel

Persephone Miel — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 19:26:03 +0000

I think listening to that has a good chance to qualify as possibly the most annoying 57 seconds of my day!