Advertising works – some better than other, but advertising works. So, why has the government’s $1.4 billion advertising campaign to get young people to stay away from drugs been such a dismal failure? 

According to the Government Accountability Office, a $1.4 billion anti-drug advertising campaign conducted by the U.S. government since 1998 does not appear to have helped reduce drug use and instead might have convinced some youths that taking illegal drugs is normal.  So, it’s possible that not only did the campaign fail; it may have had the exact opposite effect.

The report by the GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, confirmed the results of another study, a $43 million, government-funded study that found the campaign did not work. That evaluation, by Westat Inc. and the University of Pennsylvania, said parents and youths remembered the ads and their messages. The Westat study said exposure to the ads did not change kids' attitudes about drugs, but it did ingrain the perception that marijuana use is very common – a result that may have backfired.

Assuming the GAO report and the Westat study is right – which I believe is likely – why didn’t the $1.4 billion advertising campaign work?  I would love to give you the answer, but that would ruin the fun. I prefer that you give me the answer, and I’ll tell you if you are right. Some of you may be hesitant to accept me as the ultimate authority on the question, but play along with me here. (Feedback)

Short Stack

But what about Colorado children? -- One of the reasons the Colorado prosecutor decided to have John Mark Karr returned to the U.S. (despite the dubious nature of his “confession”) was that she thought he was about to prey on children in Thailand. Another prosecutor says, “She’ll be second-guessed by a bunch of armchair quarterbacks” for that decision. You think? Go for it, you armchair quarterbacks. (Feedback)

Not guilty? -- The Connecticut Supreme Court has overturned a mother's conviction on charges that she contributed to her 12-year-old son's suicide by keeping a filthy house. Prosecutors said the boy was miserable because his schoolmates ridiculed his body odor and bad breath, caused by the mother's filthy home and her lack of attention to the boy's hygiene. I’m having flashbacks to a time – long, long ago -- when one of my classmates (a girl) had the exact same problem, and was also picked on.  Can it be that bullying is frequently a byproduct of bad parenting? (Feedback)

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