This Is Your Brain on Drugs

This Is Your Brain on Drugs

"This Is Your Brain on Drugs" was a large-scale US anti-narcotics campaign by Partnership for a Drug-Free America (PDFA) launched in 1987, that used two televised public service announcements (PSAs) and a related poster campaign. [cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS
work =The Museum of Broadcast Communications online archive
publisher =
date =
url =http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/P/htmlP/publicservic/publicservic.htm
format =
doi =
accessdate =
]

1987 version

The first PSA, from 1987, showed a man who held up an egg and said, "This is your brain," before picking up a frying pan and adding, "This is drugs." He then cracks open the egg, fries the contents, and says, "This is your brain on drugs." Finally he looks up at the camera and asks, "Any questions?" A shorter version of this, simply showing a close-up of an egg dropping into a frying pan, was used a few years later. [cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = The Partnerships "Fried Egg" TV Message
work =Drugfree.org press release
publisher =The Partnership for a Drug-Free America
date = October 24, 2006
url =http://www.drugfree.org/Portal/About/NewsReleases/Fried_Egg_Message
format =
doi =August 13, 2007
accessdate =
]

1998 version

The second PSA, from 1998, featured actress Rachael Leigh Cook, who, as before, holds up an egg and says, "this is your brain", before lifting up a frying pan with the words, "this is heroin", after which she places the egg on a kitchen counter - "this is what happens to your brain after snorting heroin" - and slams the pan down on it. She lifts the pan back up, saying, "and this is what your body goes through", in reference to the remnants of the egg now dripping from the bottom of the pan and down her arm. She then says, "It's not over yet" and proceeds to smash everything in the kitchen with the frying pan, each time saying, "and this is what your family goes through", "and your friends", et cetera. She finally drops the pan on the counter of the now-wrecked kitchen, and says, "Any questions?" [cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =The Partnership's Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Creation of Campaign Advertisements
work =
publisher =National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign
date =January 24, 2005
url =http://www.mediacampaign.org/newsletter/spring98/update-04.html
format =press release
doi =
accessdate =
]

Usage and parody in popular culture

The phrase "this is your brain on drugs", was quickly popularised by teenagers and young adults during the period that these PSAs were broadcast. The original version was spoofed in popular culture such as the "Weird Al" Yankovic "I Can't Watch This" from his album "Off the Deep End", ridiculed by comedian Bill Hicks and mocked on the sitcoms "Married… with Children" and "Dinosaurs." It was also parodied on t-shirts and posters that amended the original tag line "This is your brain on drugs, side of bacon".

In the movie "", a TV is showing a version of the original ad, with the man played by an uncredited Johnny Depp (who starred in the original "Nightmare" movie). Freddy then enters the ad, mocks the man and kills him.

In the episode "Waiting to Inhale" of British sitcom "My Family", Abi puts an egg on the table and says, "This is your brain." She then picks up a frying pan, says, "This is your brain on drugs" before smashing the egg with the frying pan rather than frying the egg.

The second version has been satirized in films such as "Scary Movie 2" and on the premiere episode of the television show "Robot Chicken", for which Cook reprised her role. In the Robot Chicken version, Cook goes on a rampage, beating innocent bystanders, and destroying property with the frying pan originally used to demonstrate the drug and its impact. Finally she hits herself on the head while hanging onto a building, commiting suicide in the process.

"TV Guide" went on to name it as one of the top one hundred television advertisements ever. [ [http://www.cnn.com/fyi/interactive/news/brain/brain.on.drugs.html#'Good%20persuasive%20information' CNN report on the commercial] ]

In "Tony Hawk's Underground", skating out of bounds will make a crashing sound, teleport you back to the level, and display different messages, one of the more common being "This is your brain on drugs."

In a "Far Side" cartoon, two chickens are watching a TV ad which says "This is your egg. This is your egg covered with bugs."

In the "Arthur" episode "The Rat Who Came to Dinner" when Arthur is imagining what it would be like with his teacher (Mr. Ratburn) living with him, at one point he is watching television when Mr. Ratburn enters the room with a balloon. "This is your brain," he says, and as he deflates the balloon, he states, "This is your brain when you watch too much junky TV."

The Ads and the campaign was showcased on "". Toward the end, Penn drove a steamroller over a group of eggs labelled with civil liberties to represent the War on Drugs. Afterward, he asked, "Any questions?"

Cult Internet comedian [http://thatguywiththeglasses.com Nostalgia Critic] poked fun at both advertisements in his [http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/nostalgia-critic/34-nostalgia-critic/473-top-11-drug-psas Top 11 Nostalgic Drug PSAs] video. In response to the girl destroying the kitchen, he asks "What the hell kind of drugs are you on?"

In the movie "Batman Forever", The Riddler once states "This is your brain on the box. This is "my" brain on the box! "Does anybody else feel like a fried egg?!"

ee also

*"Just Say No"
*"I learned it by watching you"
*Public service announcement
*Partnership for a Drug-Free America
*War on Drugs
*Propaganda

External links

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nl5gBJGnaXs The original PSA]
*The second version of the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZSSfSwr0T4 "This Is Your Brain On Drugs"] ad, featuring Rachael Leigh Cook.
* [http://www.drugfreeamerica.org/ Official PDFA website]
* [http://www.drugfree.org/Portal/About/NewsReleases/Fried_Egg_Message PDFA Fried Egg Webpage] including videos and spoof information

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • I Can't Watch This — Infobox Single Name = I Can t Watch This Artist = Weird Al Yankovic from Album = Off The Deep End Released = Unreleased/Deleted Format = CD Recorded = December 3, 1990 Genre = Comedy rap Length = 3:31 Label = Scotti Brothers [ Writer = ] Producer …   Wikipedia

  • List of misconceptions about illegal drugs — Many urban legends and misconceptions about classified drugs have been created and circulated among children and the general public, with varying degrees of veracity. These are commonly repeated by organizations which oppose all classified drug… …   Wikipedia

  • List of fictional medicines and drugs — This is a list of fictional medicines and drugs from works of fiction (usually fantasy or science fiction). Some of the items listed as medicines or drugs, may be used as both or in other capacities, but fictional works are often vague on such… …   Wikipedia

  • List of The Nostalgia Critic episodes — The Nostalgia Critic is a Web review series hosted by Doug Walker. The series began in July 2007 on YouTube, but after having a large amount of his episodes removed from YouTube, those, along with new ones, started appearing in April 2008 on… …   Wikipedia

  • Partnership for a Drug-Free America — The Partnership for a Drug Free America (PDFA) is a non profit organization that helps parents prevent, intervene in and find treatment for drug and alcohol use by their children. Bringing together renowned scientists, parent experts, and… …   Wikipedia

  • Conflict (album) — Conflict Studio album by Sy Smith Released April 1, 2008 …   Wikipedia

  • Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies — The current MAPS logo. Type 501(c)(3) Non Profit Founded …   Wikipedia

  • Public service announcement — A public service announcement (PSA) or community service announcement (CSA) is a non commercial advertisement broadcast on radio or television, ostensibly for the public good. PSAs are intended to emodify public attitudes by raising awareness… …   Wikipedia

  • Listen to Your Left Brain — Infobox Album | Name = Listen To Your Left Brain Type = Album Artist = The Chinese Stars Released = April 24th 2007 Recorded = 2006/2007 at Machines With Magnets Genre = Dance punk Indie rock Length = Label = Three One G Producer = Keith Sousa… …   Wikipedia

  • We Are All on Drugs — Single infobox Name = We Are All on Drugs Artist = Weezer from Album = Make Believe Released = July 2005 (US) August 1, 2005 (UK) Format = CD, Vinyl Recorded = 2004 Genre = Alternative rock Length = 3 min 35 s Label = Geffen Producer = Rick Rubin …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”