THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

              THE NATIONAL YOUTH ANTI-DRUG MEDIA CAMPAIGN:
              EDUCATING OUR NATION'S YOUTH TO REJECT DRUGS
                             August 2, 1999

Today, President Clinton, accompanied by ONDCP Director Barry McCaffrey, will unveil new anti-drug advertisements as well as a new "ANTI-DRUG" brand for the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign. He will also announce innovative partnerships to expand further the reach of the national campaign. In addition, the President will release a report showing that the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign is successfully reaching youth and adults with its powerful messages de-normalizing drug use and educating children that drugs are wrong and dangerous.

The Largest Targeted Effort Ever to Teach Youth About Drugs. In 1997, President Clinton launched the bipartisan-supported National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign. The Campaign uses the full power of the modern media - from television, radio, the Internet, newspapers, magazines to sports marketing - to educate young people to reject drug use. The Campaign also targets parents, teachers, mentors, coaches and other responsible adults to help them talk to kids about drugs and get more involved in the lives of young people.

The Media Campaign: Surpassing Expectations. The first phase of the Campaign began with a 12-city pilot, and was expanded nationwide (Phase II) by President Clinton in July 1998.

• Sending a constant anti-drug message. The Campaign has exceeded its target of reaching 90 percent of target audiences (youth, and teens) at a frequency of four to seven times a week.

Measuring progress. Today, the President will release an evaluation of Phase II of the Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign showing that it is successfully:

• Helping change youth attitudes. The percentage of youth who agreed that the ads "made them stay away from drugs" increased from 61 percent to 69 percent - no attitudinal changes were expected until well into Phase III; and
• Informing our kids of the dangers of drugs. The percentage of youth reporting they "learned a lot about the drugs from the ads" increased from 44 to 55 percent.

Engaging the private sector in the effort. The Campaign challenges media outlets to match the campaign's efforts, on a dollar for dollar basis, with related pro-bono ads or programming time for youth drug prevention. Currently, the Campaign's match rate is 107 percent. As a result of the match, more than 4,750 network TV PSAs, and 185,000 local TV and radio PSAs have been run.

Reaching a multicultural audience. The Campaign is the largest multicultural health education effort ever undertaken by the Federal government. Campaign messages are reaching 95 percent of African American youth at a rate of 8 times per week, compared with the overall Campaign's goal of 90 percent at 4 times per week. Spanish language messages are reaching 94 percent of Hispanic youth 5.5 times per week. Campaign messages are delivered in 11 languages, ranging from Spanish, to Lakota, to Tagalog, to Chinese.

Expanding the Campaign's Reach. The Media Campaign is now in its third phase, using fully coordinated and constant anti-drug messages. By reaching young people throughout all facets of their lives - at home, in the classroom, on the athletic field, across the Internet, in buses, at the movies - the Media Campaign will help change attitudes and reduce drug use. Today, the President will launch new components of the Campaign, including:

• New ads to reach our youth. The President will release samples of Phase III television and radio ads that intend to push the Campaign to a new level, with new messages designed for target audiences.
• A Signature Brand: The ANTI-DRUG. The Campaign's new brand, "The ANTI-DRUG", will be a constant symbol drawing the entire Campaign together, and helping to increase exponentially its impact.
• New partnerships. The Campaign goes beyond just ads and establishes public-private partnerships that will generate a wide range of coordinated anti-drug activities with schools, civic organizations, community anti-drug coalitions, and others. New partnerships include:

Marvel Comics and the Youth Print Network, aimed at reaching 65 percent of "tweens" (youth ages 9-14) through a serial comic featuring Spiderman;

School News Bureau. The Bureau will target middle school and high school journalists - and ultimately their peer readership -- through school newspapers, school-based television and radio news programming. The Annie E. Casey School of Journalism for Children and Families, The Chicago Tribune and the New York Times, will help the news bureau work with young journalists to develop their talents by providing guidance in writing anti-drug stories;

Cable in the Classroom, a public service program of the cable television industry. This unique partnership will develop media-based tools for teachers to teach kids powerful lessons about drugs, and will send the tools to over 80,000 schools nationwide; and

YMCA, which is developing a structured after-school program that will include resource materials and training for staff around substance abuse issues.

A Record of Accomplishment. President Clinton has consistently proposed the largest, most ambitious anti-drug budgets ever - including $17.8 billion for FY 2000. His 1999 National Drug Control Strategy is a comprehensive ten-year plan designed to cut drug use and availability in half. Among other initiatives, the Strategy continues the Anti-Drug Media Campaign, improves and expands the Safe and Drug-Free Schools program, carries forward the Drug-Free Communities Program, shields our borders with advanced drug detection technologies, and cuts crime by testing and treating crime-committing addicts.

###