Obama TV ad spoofs 90s anti-drug campaign

A new ad for the Obama 08 campaign has recently appeared on US TV that mocks some of the glossy anti-drug ads from the 80s and 90s, notably the much derided 1987 'this is your brain on drugs' fried egg Public Service Announcement (PSA).



It is worth noting that this ad is produced and funded by the grass roots MoveOn organisation, and not by the Obama campaign itself, but none the less it surely represents the first time a mainstream presidential campaign has mocked the silliness of the drug war in order to bolster credibility. This is not of course suggesting that drugs prevention / education is a bad thing per se (or that it is incompatible with a progressive drug law reform position) , rather that some of the ill-considered but iconic campaigns of the 'just say no' era have now become the staple of mainstream satire.

Tipping points are notoriously difficult to predict, but in hindsight often seem obvious and inevitable (e.g., the fall of the Berlin Wall). I saw the ad on Comedy Central late last night (reaching what the Daily Show calls the 'stoner demographic'), but if it continues to be aired on other channels/times (MTV is up next) and resonates with voters, we could be witnessing a watershed moment. Now that's change I can believe in!

Thanks to Sanho Tree