Molly AlexanderRachel DrummondAshley Richardson

How it Began

In 2005, the Office of National Drug Control Policy’s National Youth Anti-Drug media campaign created Above the Influence. The campaign was created to target ages 12-17, but focus on ages 14-16 in an effort to combat the influence of drug abuse in both social and cultural aspects.

How it Works• The campaign functions as propaganda using nationwide

commercials and local/community involvement to make teens aware of the effects of drug abuse.

• The commercials are meant to function as prevention messages for the middle school and high school age group. The campaign views the transition from middle to high school as critical, which is why they focus on ages 14-16 in an effort to prevent drug abuse from ever starting.

• The community and local involvement is made possible because the Campaign partners with youth-serving organizations across the nation, offering technical assistance and training in the form of conferences, workshops, and webinars.

Statistics

• Youth who are aware of the Above the Influence advertising are consistently more likely to have stronger anti-drug beliefs compared to those unaware of the Campaign’s advertising.

• 75 percent of teens (both genders and all ethnicities) say that Above the Influence speaks to someone like them

• 85 percent of teens are aware of ATI advertising

How Do They Get Their Message Across?

The Anti-Drug website makes downloadable resources available to the public, including:•A parents handbook•Toolkits to share information with your community • Information on prescription drug abuse, drunk driving and technology•To access available resources visit www.theantidrug.com/resources•Information is also available on AbovetheInfluence.com, including commercial advertisements which are most effective in reaching the public •http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7aHf-GfvWQ&feature=player_embedded

Facebookwww.facebook.com/abovetheinfluence

Official Website

Campaign EffectivenessMore recent independent studies:•Dr. Michael Slater et al (2011), in a study published online by the peer-reviewed journal Prevention Science, found evidence for the effectiveness of the Above the Influence Campaign. This independent scientific analysis, funded through a grant by the National Institutes on Drug Abuse, concluded that "exposure to the ONDCP (ATI) campaign predicted reduced marijuana use." The analysis, showed that those youth who reported exposure to the ATI campaign were less likely to begin use of marijuana compared to those not exposed to the ATI campaign – a finding consistent with the Campaign's own year-round Youth Ad Tracking Survey results.•Dr. Christopher Carpenter and Dr. Cornelia Pechmann (2011), in a study published in the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH ), linked greater exposure to ONDCP's Above the Influence Campaign to reduced drug use among young females. Specifically, the study found girls to be especially receptive to Above the Influence's anti-drug messages about achievement and living life above negative influences.

Campaign Effectiveness con’t

CritiquePositive:

• The campaign reaches a large audience, a majority of teens know what the campaign is and the message it is trying to get across.

• Commercials are memorable to the audience, also the logo is recognizable to anyone aware of the campaign.

• They use peers in advertisements rather than celebrities which makes the campaign relatable.

Negative:• While they are active on Facebook they do not have a Twitter page, the

only presence they do have on Twitter is through hashtags and what the Office of National Drug Control posts about them on its Twitter page.

• While it is positive that the Above the Influence organization provides resources to help make yourself and people around you aware of the dangers of drug-abuse, the organization does not appear to do community outreach in any other form than advertisements.