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Sam Penrod ReportingBYU students have created an ad campaign to keep kids off drugs that will hit the nation’s airwaves next month.
It was simply a homework assignment for students majoring in advertising. But their ideas were so good that with the help of a mentor at a national ad agency, the students’ ideas were selected by the White House to be part of a new anti-drug campaign.
Today the nation's drug czar came to Provo to award the BYU student who led the team that created the ads.
The National Office of Drug Control and Policy chose the BYU students’ work over proposals from other well-known ad agencies. The campaign is called "scan me" and it used students from Provo High as the models. In fact all of the television, radio and print ads were produced right here in Provo.
John Walters, Dir., Office of National Drug Control Policy: "This is going to be shown on the air, not because it was a student project or because it was set aside to do student work. This is here because it competed with the best creative work that we had available to us from the best ad agencies through the country."
Michael Richardson, Ad Campaign Creator: "Most of the ad work we do isn't that important. It's nice to see some thing that makes a positive influence in the world."
Besides being on TV and radio, the ads are already showing up in magazines that are popular with teenagers, which the ads are directed to.
The BYU students aren't getting any money for their work; however they are getting good grades in their class along with jobs in the advertising industry.
