I was watching the Brian Turner / WFMU-curated episode of NY Noise the other night, and up comes this Public Service Announcement from the Bad Council (who've actually done some cool things - remember The Crying Indian (RM video link)? One of theirs). Two little kids are having diner dinner with Dad, who's clearly got a scar on his ear where once hung an earring. The announcer says something to the effect of "your dad had an earring back in the day when only bikers and hippies had earrings" (the dude's only like 30, but whatever). "And you know what bikers and hippies had in common? The Drugs." The remainder of the hour was filled with similarly snarky anti-drug messages from the same source, like the dad who rolls himself up in the rug and tells his daughter he's a joint. Relating, you know. A bunch of grownups desperately trying to convince their kids they're hip to the now scene, while maintaining a just-say-no message.
One of my duties here at the so-called Magic Factory is serving as Public Service Announcement Director, so if some organization's got an anti-drug campaign, they're sending their material to me. Mostly it's dreadful. Mostly it's the former mayor of Hillsborough or some such place politely suggesting the kids find something else to do: "Hey kids, my anti-drug is politics!" - in astoundingly low fidelity. But not the Bad Council! They're F-U-N! Sometimes. No, mostly not. Here's all the fun ones, enjoy.
(mp3s) A-B-C-D-PCP... | Baa Baa Black Sheep | Humpty Dumpty
These here all cleverly update some of your favorite nursery rhymes, while the ones that follow get a little more "very special episode" on you:
(mp3s) You Wanna... y'know? | You Don't Know What You Took?!
Now let's go back to 1973, when Bill Cosby actually did this kind of thing pretty well (RM link to Kenny G's show). "The Dopepusher" (alright, the chorus blows -- but those shouted verses are great!)
And finally, don't forget: Daddy drinks because you cry. (mp3)
The nursery rhyme anti drug adds are probably my favorite commercials of all time!! I scoured the internet looking for sound bites...
Posted by: HM | August 24, 2006 at 06:06 PM