Gen X Americans might remember a certain anti-drug commercial from the late 1980's, called "this is your brain on drugs." It 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?" As I recall, that campaign was the butt of a lot of jokes, but didn't garner the kind of publicity the Partnership for a Drug-Free America had in mind.
The Israeli anti-drug authority decided that it would be a great idea to reach out to young people with a spoof of a shaheed poster - the type one sees in the West Bank, extolling young men who have blown themselves up for "the cause." The anti-drug authority placed the following advertisement in Maariv and Yedioth yesterday. At the top it says, "The hero Omer Kendel, 16 years old, mixed vodka and ecstasy and went to blow himself up at a party in Tel Aviv." At the bottom: "Drugs and alcohol taken together is suicide," followed by the phone number for the anti-drug authority. The font resembles Arabic calligraphy.
For comparison, below is a photo I took of a shaheed poster in a West Bank town.
Update: Wow, just when you thought the campaign couldn't get any more tasteless - it does! According to this article on Ynet, the anti-drug authority's campaign includes a video clip styled after the taped testaments of suicide bombers, featuring a teenager bidding goodbye to his family telling them he is on his way to heaven. Click on the link to watch the video with English subtitles.
