Anti-meth TV ads to continue in state

It may be the most hard-hitting anti-drug campaign to ever hit the media.

To date, the Montana Meth Project has run 25,000 minutes of TV advertising, 25,000 minutes of radio advertising, 150 pages of print advertisements and 60 billboard and display ads. The project has been the subject of 450 news stories, resulting in 13 million impressions, according to a press release. It's also garnered much national attention, grabbing spots on CBS, CNBC, NBC, Fox News and National Public Radio.

Quite literally, the statewide meth prevention program wants to saturate the media, said Montana Meth Project Executive Director Peg Shea, who was at the Flathead Senior Citizens Center to discuss the controversial campaign last week.

The Montana Meth Project has generated a considerable buzz with its 30-second television spots featuring gruesome portrayals of methamphetamine use. The ads target the 12-17 year old demographic with their edgy and graphic content, and reach 70 percent of Montana teens an average of three times per week, totaling more than 33 million impressions, project officials say.

"A lot of the younger viewers complain that we're just trying to scare them straight," Shea said. But she insists that the ads, as extreme as they are, aren't exaggerating.

One commercial depicts a teen getting ready for a night out. She talks to a friend on the phone and makes arrangements to try meth. When she steps into the shower, she notices a trickle of blood flowing down the drain. She turns around and finds her future meth-addicted self curled up in the corner of the bathtub, picking at her flesh and screaming, "Don't try it! Don't try it!"

It is disturbing, and that's the idea, Shea said.

"We want to create a knee-jerk reaction," Shea said. "We want to evoke a strong, visceral emotional reaction to meth."

That commercial is one of a series of equally graphic TV spots, each ending with the tag line "Meth: Not Even Once."

"We want to cut down on first time use," she said. "If we inform kids about meth use, we will unsell meth. This drug is so horrific, and many kids don't know that."

Shea admits that, while the ads have received a wide amount of acclaim, they've also garnered some negative feedback. Some critics say the ads go too far.

But Tribal Police Chief Craige Couture testified that the commercials accurately illustrate the reality of meth use. With a series of "before" and "after" photos, Couture showed the damaging affects meth can have on a body. One girl, who he referred to as the "poster girl for meth" was unrecognizable after several years of use.

"She says she can't even stand to look at herself in the mirror," he said. "Yet, they do it. They see what it is doing to them and they can't stop."

Shea said that the ads focus on the deterioration of appearance because they'll have a stronger impact on teenagers. With a heavy emphasis on the bruises, gashes and discoloration of skin, teens might be more likely to abstain from the drug.

"They are so self-conscience at that age," she said. "Looks are so important to them."

So does it work?

"It gets the point across quite well," said Polson High School student Kevin Mitchelle.

The Montana Meth Project is hard at work creating the next wave of advertisements, part in thanks to the Meth Awareness and Prevention Act introduced by U.S. Senator Conrad Burns last February. The legislation will provide an additional $25 million in federal funding to support meth awareness and prevention campaigns.

The ads promise to be every bit as edgy and controversial as the previous batch and teens are already anticipating their debut.

"I have kids coming up to me asking 'When are the new ads coming out?'" Shea said.

The ads, she said, are making an impact, but the effects of the ad campaign aren't immediate, Shea noted.

"It takes time to change behavior," she said. "The change in the rate of meth use will take time. Anything we can do to prevent one person from doing the drug, it'll have been worth every minute. Meth use is preventable."

The Montana Meth Project is funded throught he end of 2006. Donations can be sent to

Montana Community Foundation - Meth Project

101 North Last Chance Gulch, Suite 211

Helena, MT 59601

or visit

montanameth.org

Make checks payable to Montana Community Foundation - Meth Project.