"What has weed done for you?"

Put a little too simply, there are two kinds of people in this country: the people who support the use of marijuana and the people who do not. Many of the people who support the use of marijuana use it themselves. There are several organizations of non-supporters, the most well-known--thanks to television and print advertisements--is the national group Above the Influence. I’ve been exposed to many of these advertisements that act more as public service announcements as they are not selling a product but discouraging the use of another and I often question the logic, tactics, and appeals this organization uses in order to relate to its target audience: the tokers. Generally the commercials offer an opportunity for insight for the often criticized marijuana user, giving them a chance to question their way of life and in a matter of words, become a better person; the commercial I analyze is no different.

The ad can be found on the organization’s website www.abovetheinflunce.com but I’ve seen it frequent channels like MTV, TBS, NBC--channels that I know many members of Above the Influence’s (ATI) target audience tune in to. Because of what types of viewers certain channels draw in, this ad probably wouldn’t appear on the Oxygen or History channel. The length of the commercial in exactly 30 seconds and is comprised of both image and sound (music and spoken word)--6 words of small text are used at the end of the ad and even smaller text citing the organization who is advertising.

This advertisement is most certainly geared toward a very specific age group--school age children, even college students, probably 13-25. Of the 6 characters featured in the ad, they all look to be of middle or upper-middle class and presumably all of them are students (from my judgement, most are high-school age). If it matters, all of them would probably be considered attractive.
Specifically, and in this order, the ad shows the following people, each with a sentence of spoken word:
A brown haired young man stands in a little girl’s room fashioned with shades of pink, dollhouses, and flowers. With hands in his pockets, he says, “I stole from my little sister.”
A young girl with long brown hair is seen in her kitchen pointing out a report card on the fridge while she smiles and says proudly, “I got straight D’s.”
A laid-back guy with a surfer vibe is lounging on a bed in what looks to be a dorm room, and says excitedly, “I left my ex-girlfriend 27 messages last night.”
A sweet looking girl stands with her hand of the shoulder of a mother who solemnly cries in front of her bedroom mirror while the girl perks up and says, “I make my mother cry.”
A nerdy-looking boy lies, passed out on a couch at a hoppin’ (and messy) house party while the camera utilizes a time-lapse effect of fast scenes showing many hands drawing and coloring on his face with markers (we see a French mustache and “dork” on his forehead). The boy then (soberly, it seems) wakes up and says, “I let people draw on me.”
The last scene is of a young black man in an older (orange, nice!) car in front of a garage, and with hands on the wheel beams and says, “I ditch my friends and let them find their own way home.”
The (very small) text that draws all these statements follows: “What has weed done for you?”

It should also be noted that the music playing in the background is really upbeat—it features soft guitar accompanied by a flute, and kind of makes you feel like dancing. The music plays throughout the commercial but has a peppy little “breakdown” during the up-close shots of the characters’ faces, showing them beaming and proudly nodding.

The “hook and story” of this ad is based on the idea that ATI is parodying a certain type of advertisement featuring “testimonials”—the ad gets our attention and might be considered funny because while the things the characters are saying aren’t positive, their body language, vocal tone and facial expressions are. ATI is using the format that would be better suited for the correlation between a product and the effects it has upon the consumer, for example: “After taking Such-and-Such herbal supplements, I got straight A’s” or “With Such-and Such, my race times are better than ever.” Instead of making a positive correlation between the product and the consumer, ATI attempts to be successful at making a negative one. It is also necessary to mention that the ad primarily appeals to the viewer’s guilt centered around the act of using marijuana. It operates under the assumption that because marijuana is illegal and it supposedly makes you stupid, lazy and apathetic, its users are supposed to feel guilty when an ad like this points out what they feel the viewers fail to really think about: How is marijuana use (negatively) affecting your life? The point is that once the viewer sees this commercial and others like it, they will think twice about their use and hopefully change their ways (quit).

To fully understand the motives behind ATI’s message, it would be helpful to look at the assumptions about and preconceptions held against this age group of tokers. Hundreds of thousands of American citizens enjoy marijuana as both a medical and recreational drug—we know that these people come from different ethnic groups, income brackets, ideologies, and ages. ATI chooses not to portray older users who most likely understand the effects of their use both on their own lives and the lives of others; nor does ATI portray characters who use marijuana for medical purposes. Bottom line: the character they want to expose is one who is irresponsible, unfocused, and ignorant. ATI assumes that smoking weed is a priority for all six characters; they don’t take into account the frequency of use nor what is acceptable behavior within each child’s family, if there is a history of addictive behavior, or whether the characters mix the use of marijuana with that of alcohol, like I know many kids their age do.

There is something to say in the fact that all the characters look “normal”: they are all sheltered in some way, clothed, not starving, and to top it off, proudly grinning. They could have made the characters look worn-down and disheveled in an attempt to show the viewer what someone on their path looks like, but they chose to make the characters look like “you and me” to get the point across to us that the controversial toker could be anyone, any seemingly normal basketball, guitar, or chess player that we see in every American school.

Upon my first viewing of this ad, I began to question what ATI’s advertising/marketing team’s thinking process was in its production; solely based on each characters’ statement, I think the ad used completely inefficient tactics. As a marijuana user, I have a good idea what behaviors are exhibited by people under the influence of the drug and I have never myself, nor ran across another person who did any of the things mentioned in the ad. As far as what effects marijuana has on the body, the accusations as I’ll call them are totally inaccurate. If there are two groups of people as I mentioned before, how can one accurately see into the life of the other if their nature is to be opposed? How do the people behind this advertisement know to discourage the use of marijuana based on certain behaviors if they themselves don’t understand the behaviors linked to marijuana use because they don’t know firsthand?
Breaking it down:
Stealing from little sister (presumably to buy the drug)--this behavior would more likely be suited to a user of alcohol or stimulants. Because the effects of drugs like cocaine and heroin are short-lived, it would make more sense for these people to steal to support their habit, simply because they need to stay high is their top priority. I can’t generalize, but I’ve never known a marijuana user to steal…especially from their kid sister.
Straight D’s-- It may be fair to assume that once one starts smoking weed, their studies will move down the priorities list and their grades begin to fail. While I have certainly seen instances like this, it should not be assumed that smokers can’t hold a good GPA. Personally speaking, I maintain above a 3.0 GPA, and feel that not only are my grades improving each semester (as I continue to use) but my thinking processes change and evolve, giving me difference perspectives by which to critically analyze the world.
27 messages--This one is the worst and be much more believable coming from a drunk. There is no way that someone who is stoned would even have the energy or attention span to not only call someone but to embarrassingly leave dozens of messages to an ex (because alcohol is known for its ability to severely impair judgment and lower inhibitions whereas marijuana slows brain function impairs body movement coordination).
Sad mom--This is plausible because I’m sure it would upset some parents to learn that their school-age child uses pot. For other parents, it’s not the worst thing their kid could do. I guess ATI gets a thumbs up on this one…
Let people draw on me--First of all, if you’re passed out, you’re not letting anybody do anything to you. Secondly, if you were to pass out wasted, people can usually do what they will with you--physically it is more difficult to wake you from sleep like that. Under the influence of marijuana, one would probably awake upon feeling things touch their face as they would if they’d fallen asleep sober. What’s so bad about being drawn on anyways? Heaven forbid I have a fake mustache drawn on my face. I’ve seen a lot worse done to the kid who drinks the most and passes out way too early…
Ditch my friends--The last scene definitely plays on the part that the character is behind the wheel of a car and technically driving while intoxicated, which I know is an issue. However, never have I or any of my friends gotten too high to either forget about giving our friends a ride home, become too lazy to give a ride, or who really snapped and ditched their friends out of anger or annoyance, I don’t know. Smoking weed doesn’t make you care about your friends any less.

Many of these statements would world better if the ad was discouraging the use of alcohol or methamphetamines--any drug that is more lethal than marijuana. Booze, cocaine, meth, heroin, uppers and downers of all kinds--that shit can and will kill you with one use while the death toll caused by marijuana use remains at zero. 0. None…and Above the Influence puts all this time, energy, and especially money into dozens of ads about marijuana use when they could be focusing on substances that have much more deadly and dramatic effects on their users. America’s “War on Drugs” is a debatable subject these days--where the money comes from, who is behind it, what people and organizations benefit, why we don’t legalize everything and reap the profits instead of and underground business holding billions of dollars and it definitely needs to be considered when seeing ads like this.

To wrap up my analysis of the ad, I must take into account the effect the ad has on me. While haven’t ditched my friends or gotten straight D’s, I can tell you what weed has done for me. Weed has allowed me to meet and spend time with so many interesting people. Weed makes music sound better, food taste yummier, and yeah, it makes things funnier. Never have these things been negative. Weed has allowed me some good times (and some bad) but it surely hasn’t ruined my life and I’m certain that it will continue to have a positive effect on my life so long as I continue its use.