White House Says Get High, Buy Burritos.

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Via the Marijuana Policy Project comes this new campaign from the department of outgoing White House drug czar John Walters. Released this week, it likely hoped to counter the recent public opinion regarding marijuana decriminalization in Massachusetts and medical marijuana in Michigan. From a design POV, I love it. Great spin on ads I grew up looking at in comic books for things like Sea Monkeys. As for the message, Bruce at MPP goes on to wonder why agency McKinney would do ads on one hand that support anti-drug messages like this, and on the other, have Southern Comfort as a client. Snarky reply? I agree. Someone obviously got high before making those SoCo spots. Non-snarky reply? It's advertising. Ethics left the discussion a long time ago. As Alex Bogusky sums up perfectly: We're mercs for hire--we'll go after anyone.

by Bill Green    Nov- 7-08   Click to Comment   
Topic: Campaigns   

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Comments



Comments

For the record, we'll let the ad industry sort out its own ethics, but public officials should have some standards. Booze kills, marijuana doesn't -- and it's time for someone at the drug czar's office to take note.

Posted by: Bruce Mirken on November 7, 2008 1:58 PM

You expected ethics in government too? Good luck there. ;-p While I understand the arguement, their mindset is booze is legal—pot isn’t. Hypocritical? Sure, but then, this is the government you’re talking about.

Posted by: bg on November 7, 2008 2:22 PM

Aye. The problem is it's fundamentally nonsense.

Stoners make fantastic musicians, poets, artists, thinkers, programmers, bloggers, writers, inventors and pretty much anything to do with the right brain.

They don't make good state-controlled factory fodder though.

Nice looking ad.

PS

Glad Alex recognizes he's a whore.


Posted by: floyd Hayes on November 7, 2008 3:42 PM

@fh-Sober creatives are pretty good too. As for AB, that’s missing the point. Wasn’t about him as much as how it applies to the business in general. Anyone in the business, myself included, who takes money to further the cause of their client does it to best of their abilities, or they shouldn’t take the work on. That’s what we all do, no?

We can go back and forth all day on the hypocrisy of the brands agencies end up working on, because it happens everywhere. Guess I don’t get where whore comes into it. Based on what I’ve seen from CP+B, selling burgers isn’t any different than what we’ve all done.

Posted by: bg on November 7, 2008 4:30 PM

@ BG

Absolutely - it's not as though I'm baked off my gourd all day long :)

Posted by: Floyd Hayes on November 8, 2008 11:08 AM

@Floyd - All this talk of burgers and weed is giving me contact munchies.

;-p

Posted by: bg on November 8, 2008 1:20 PM