A Hot Meth

Why do I have such a problem with meth billboards?
I think meth is bad, and needs to be stopped. But are confusing marketing campaigns the way to go?

The latest tagline:

Think meth is pretty? Yeah, pretty stupid.

OK. It would be a clever wordplay if I thought people really think meth is "pretty". Have any of you all ever associated meth with beauty? I think of hillbillies, dirty bathtubs, and garages. Of course, I'm not the target audience. But do you think kids see meth as pretty? I don't see it.
At all.

Maybe I'm way off. I'd like someone to tell me this makes sense. Because I'm sure a lotta dough went into it.

And maybe the cleverness of the message isn't what's important... maybe it's about increased awareness: "meth is pretty stupid". OK. But truth.com manages to be both insanely original, clever, and sobering at the same time. It can be done.

There is a TV ad to go with it. The voiceover warns that "you can become addicted after just your second use." Huh. So the first is a gimme, apparently.

This may be just a Michigan campaign. And it looks pretty slick. But it doesn't work for me. I tried finding any kind of a link to show you the ad, but I think it's too new. There is one campaign I found that I love, though.
Partnership for a Drug-Free America put out Faces of Meth (the name itself a clever play on "Faces of Death"), which shows mugshots of people before and after using meth. Whoa. Check out the woman who after four years turned into Bride of Frankenstein.

So, what do you think? Does it matter how dopey the presentation is as long as the message is out there? Or should it actually make sense?


BTW, I think a website devoted to meth info should be called "Methopotamia".