The Drum Awards for Marketing - Extended Deadline

-d -h -min -sec

Technology Drugs

Green Point Creative features actress Rachael Leigh Cook in anti-drug PSA

Author

By Haley Velasco, Freelance journalist

April 20, 2017 | 3 min read

New York-based Green Point Creative has featured actress Rachael Leigh Cook in an anti-drug PSA in honor of the 20th anniversary of the “This is Your Brain” spot. With the message that, “The War on Drugs is a War on People,” the spot highlights the inequality, especially by race, that drug regulation and incarceration operate on.

The PSA starts with Cook holding up an egg and a frying pan. She says, “This... is one of the millions of Americans who use drugs, and won’t get arrested.” She then holds up a brown egg and says, “However, this American is several times more likely to be charged with a drug crime. Imagine it’s you.”

“Ryan at Motiv came up with the original egg concept and after the Drug Policy Alliance signed on, we further developed the spot,” said Howard Bowler, creative director, Green Point Creative. “Once we had the script locked and the project in motion, we decided to approach Rachael Leigh Cook to see if she would be willing to recreate her role for this new message. We discussed the idea with her and after she had time to consider the issue, she came aboard. Clearly her presence adds tremendous credibility to the message.”

With description from Cook, we see the brown egg being sentenced to prison and once he is released, the discrimination and stigma in many aspects of his life. Then Cook holds a pan dripping with the smashed brown eggs, where she says, “The Drug War is ruining people’s lives. It fuels mass incarceration, preying on people of color in greater numbers than their white counterparts. It cripples communities, costs billions and it doesn’t work... Any questions?”

The spot comes from Green Point’s campaign against cannabis prohibition. They said that “Our nation’s drug war is leading us to lock up more people than ever. Those charged with a non-violent drug crime face fines and incarceration. More people are arrested for drugs than for rape, murder and robbery combined. … At Green Point Creative, we believe our nation’s drug policy needs a serious reevaluation, so we are using our skills in strategy, creativity and world class production to generate content that seeks to educate and inspire change.”

“The goal of this PSA is to bring attention to the mission of the Drug Policy Alliance so that our legislators to take an honest look at our drug laws and how they are applied.” Bowler said. “Cigarettes, which has the highest mortality rate of all drugs, is not a scheduled drug, and drugs like cocaine and prescription opioids are considered less dangerous than cannabis. The existing drug laws are a gateway to prison and a life of hardships.”

Technology Drugs

More from Technology

View all

Trending

Industry insights

View all
Add your own content +