In a way, it’s the job of a PSA to cut through all the glitzy ad noise and deliver a more crucial message – one that protects families from abuse, unprotected sex or drugs, for example.
But on their noble mission to maintain the status quo, sometimes an overzealous PSA can just scare the shit out of some of us, and completely confuse everyone else.
This musical meth ad first appeared over 10 years ago (we’re guessing). We were terrified of it as kids. (Consider the nightmarish effects Requiem for a Dream might have had on impressionable teenagers, then compress it into a :30 spot.)
The ad came up in conversation yesterday with our landlord, who was in the middle of a cleaning spree. He remembered the ad immediately – then, perplexed, said, “It was about meth? You mean the drug?”
“Uh, yeah,” we answered, to which he exclaimed, “Oh my god! All this time I thought it was about a cleaning agent.”
Long pause.
He somberly added, “The commercial didn’t really make me want to buy it, though.”
