This is Your Brain on Drugs
Encyclopedia
This Is Your Brain on Drugs was a large-scale US
anti-narcotic
s campaign by Partnership for a Drug-Free America
(PDFA) launched in 1987, that used two televised public service announcement
s (PSAs) and a related poster campaign.
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?" A shorter version of this, simply showing a close-up of an egg dropping into a frying pan, was used a few years later.
The PSA was so popular that Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare
spoofed the PSA with Johnny Depp
, (who appeared in the first Nightmare on Elm Street
movie.) The PSA goes on as normal until Robert Englund
(who plays Freddy Krueger
) hits Depp with the frying pan and says, "Yeah! What are you on? Looks like a frying pan and some eggs to me."
, who, as before, holds up an egg and says, "this is your brain", before lifting up a frying pan with the words, "this is heroin", after which she places the egg on a kitchen counter - "this is what happens to your brain after snorting heroin" - and slams the pan down on it. She lifts the pan back up, saying, "and this is what your body goes through", in reference to the remnants of the egg now dripping from the bottom of the pan and down her arm. She then says, "It's not over yet" and proceeds to smash everything in the kitchen with the frying pan, saying, "And this is what your family goes through! And your friends! And your money! And your job! And your self-respect! And your future!" She ends with "And your life." She finally drops the pan on the counter of the now-wrecked kitchen, and says, "Any questions?"
The commercial was directed by Eden Tyler. It was written by Ken Cills and Doug Hill, who were working at the New York ad agency, Margeotes, Fertitta and Partners.
named the commercial one of the top one hundred television advertisements ever. Internet comedian Nostalgia Critic poked fun at both advertisements in his Top 11 Nostalgic Drug PSAs video, stating that, "People know this one so well, they can say it in their sleep.". In response to the girl destroying the kitchen, he answers the question by asking one of his own: "Yeah what the hell kind of drugs are you on?!"
The second version was parodied on Robot Chicken
, in which the girl (voiced by Rachael Leigh Cook herself) goes on a psychopathic rampage, ending in her arrest.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
anti-narcotic
Narcotic
The term narcotic originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with any sleep-inducing properties. In the United States of America it has since become associated with opioids, commonly morphine and heroin and their derivatives, such as hydrocodone. The term is, today, imprecisely...
s campaign by Partnership for a Drug-Free America
Partnership for a Drug-Free America
The Partnership for a Drug-Free America is a non-profit organization that helps parents prevent, intervene in and find treatment for drug and alcohol use by their children...
(PDFA) launched in 1987, that used two televised public service announcement
Public service announcement
A public service announcement or public service ad is a type of advertisement featured on television, radio, print or other media...
s (PSAs) and a related poster campaign.
1987 version
The first PSA, from 1987, showed a man who held up an egg and said, "This is your brain," before picking up a frying panFrying pan
A frying pan, frypan, or skillet is a flat-bottomed pan used for frying, searing, and browning foods. It is typically in diameter with relatively low sides that flare outwards, a long handle, and no lid. Larger pans may have a small grab handle opposite the main handle...
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?" A shorter version of this, simply showing a close-up of an egg dropping into a frying pan, was used a few years later.
The PSA was so popular that Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare
Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare
Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare is a 1991 American slasher film. It is the sixthand as the title suggests, intended to be the lastfilm in the series of films featuring Freddy Krueger...
spoofed the PSA with Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
, (who appeared in the first Nightmare on Elm Street
A Nightmare on Elm Street
A Nightmare on Elm Street is a 1984 American slasher film directed and written by Wes Craven, and the first film of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. The film features Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon, Ronee Blakley, Amanda Wyss, Jsu Garcia, Robert Englund, and Johnny Depp in his feature film...
movie.) The PSA goes on as normal until Robert Englund
Robert Englund
Robert Barton Englund is an American actor, voice-actor and director, best known for playing the fictional serial killer Freddy Krueger, in the Nightmare on Elm Street film series. He received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors in...
(who plays Freddy Krueger
Freddy Krueger
Frederick Charles "Freddy" Krueger is a fictional, horrifying character from the Nightmare on Elm Street series of horror films. He first appears in Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street as a disfigured dream stalker who uses a glove armed with razors to kill his victims in their dreams,...
) hits Depp with the frying pan and says, "Yeah! What are you on? Looks like a frying pan and some eggs to me."
1998 version
The second PSA, from 1998, featured 18-year-old actress Rachael Leigh CookRachael Leigh Cook
Rachael Leigh Cook is an American actress, known for her role in the romantic comedy She's All That and her This is Your Brain on Drugs public service announcement.-Early life:...
, who, as before, holds up an egg and says, "this is your brain", before lifting up a frying pan with the words, "this is heroin", after which she places the egg on a kitchen counter - "this is what happens to your brain after snorting heroin" - and slams the pan down on it. She lifts the pan back up, saying, "and this is what your body goes through", in reference to the remnants of the egg now dripping from the bottom of the pan and down her arm. She then says, "It's not over yet" and proceeds to smash everything in the kitchen with the frying pan, saying, "And this is what your family goes through! And your friends! And your money! And your job! And your self-respect! And your future!" She ends with "And your life." She finally drops the pan on the counter of the now-wrecked kitchen, and says, "Any questions?"
The commercial was directed by Eden Tyler. It was written by Ken Cills and Doug Hill, who were working at the New York ad agency, Margeotes, Fertitta and Partners.
Impact
TV GuideTV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
named the commercial one of the top one hundred television advertisements ever. Internet comedian Nostalgia Critic poked fun at both advertisements in his Top 11 Nostalgic Drug PSAs video, stating that, "People know this one so well, they can say it in their sleep.". In response to the girl destroying the kitchen, he answers the question by asking one of his own: "Yeah what the hell kind of drugs are you on?!"
The second version was parodied on Robot Chicken
Robot Chicken
Robot Chicken is an American stop motion animated television series created and executive produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. Green provides many voices for the show...
, in which the girl (voiced by Rachael Leigh Cook herself) goes on a psychopathic rampage, ending in her arrest.
See also
- Just Say NoJust Say No"Just Say No" was an advertising campaign, part of the U.S. "War on Drugs", prevalent during the 1980s and early 1990s, to discourage children from engaging in recreational drug use by offering various ways of saying no. Eventually, this also expanded the realm of "Just Say No" to violence and...
- I learned it by watching youI learned it by watching youI learned it by watching you! was a large-scale United States anti-narcotics campaign by Partnership for a Drug-Free America. Launched in 1987, the campaign used a televised public service announcement....
- Public service announcementPublic service announcementA public service announcement or public service ad is a type of advertisement featured on television, radio, print or other media...
- Partnership for a Drug-Free AmericaPartnership for a Drug-Free AmericaThe Partnership for a Drug-Free America is a non-profit organization that helps parents prevent, intervene in and find treatment for drug and alcohol use by their children...
- War on DrugsWar on DrugsThe War on Drugs is a campaign of prohibition and foreign military aid and military intervention being undertaken by the United States government, with the assistance of participating countries, intended to both define and reduce the illegal drug trade...
External links
- The second version of the "This Is Your Brain On Drugs" ad, featuring Rachael Leigh CookRachael Leigh CookRachael Leigh Cook is an American actress, known for her role in the romantic comedy She's All That and her This is Your Brain on Drugs public service announcement.-Early life:...
. - Official PDFA website
- PDFA Fried Egg Webpage including videos and spoof information