Partnership to Teens: "Check Yourself"

Are you sure you're in control?

Anti-drug campaigns from the ONDCP and the Partnership for a Drug Free America tend to be shrill and preachy, relying on the scare messages favored by parents and other authority figures -- that is to say, messages teens are used to ignoring. A new campaign from the Partnership, however, demonstrates how powerful a more down-to-earth message can be.

Two new television spots from L.A. agency Ground Zero and Biscuit Filmworks director Noam Murro both start out like typical anti-drug ads. In one, we see a kid unconscious on a motel room floor, apparently the victim of a drug overdose. In the other, we see two bodies strewn at the scene of a car accident. But just as we're about to tune out these worst-case scenarios, the kids stand up and address the camera.

"Not everyone who gets high is going to end up all out of control and end up here," the car crash victim admits. "But do you think you can go like a day without weed or X or whatever? How about a whole weekend? Sure you're in control?"

Both spots refer viewers to www.checkyourself.com where teens can get information about drug and alcohol abuse. Thanks to the campaign's measured, non-hysterical message, some teens probably will.