Many people who grew up in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s are well aware of the anti-drug Public Service Announcements that used to appear in between TV shows. Well in the modern era, these PSA’s have found a new home and are appear regularly throughout social media. In fact, Facebook (the biggest player in the space) is now aligning with the Partnership for Drug Free Kids organization for a special digital-only campaign entitled “Stop Opioid Silence;” or “SOS.”
The new initiative consists of multiple short videos, all built for the Facebook channel. They are also going out on the Messenger app and Instagram, utilizing popular formats like the vertical Stories.
The overall message is loud and clear, packing a powerful punch. One big headline, which is based on recent stats from America’s painkiller crisis, claims that 1 in 2 Americans knows someone affected by opioids.
12 different people appear throughout the spots, each having been affected by the epidemic. 17 prominent Senators are featured as well, lending their support for the cause with ads specific to their states.
The goal is to ultimately get people into recovery, encouraging even those who are not addicted to reach out if someone close to them is struggling. Each ad will drive people to the designated “SOS” website, which includes resources and live support.
There is also an “SOS” Alarm Toolkit, which is available for downloading. That includes shareable memes, stickers for Instagram and ways to customize your Facebook profile picture with branding from the campaign.
As the people in the videos explain, this is a very real problem and one that hits much closer to home than people realize.
“More than half of all Americans know someone affected by the opioid crisis,” the site reads. “And only about one quarter of those addicted get the treatment they need. This national public awareness campaign aims to inspire individuals with opioid use disorders, as well as their families, to send an SOS and share their stories. It’s time to break the silence around this epidemic and help end the stigma that too often prevents people from speaking up and getting help. Together, we can fight this public health crisis that is killing one of us every 11 minutes.”
Truth be told, each clip is extremely powerful. We have shared a few of them below and encourage everyone (addicted or not) to take part in this important campaign.
