Don't Be A Patsy

I was reading Sunday’s edition of the New York Times when I came across the following ad:


The first line reads, “You may have heard about Patsy and her anti-drug campaign. Her homemade videos posted on various popular websites seem to be gaining quite a following.” The ad goes on to say that although Patsy might have good intentions, parents should seek out more thorough and tested advice through the Partnership for a Drug-Free America’s Web site.
Further investigation revealed a multitude of Pasty’s videos on sites such as YouTube and hundreds of personal blogs. The videos show Patsy, a seemingly typical suburban mom, employing extremely atypical methods of testing her children for drug use: frisking her children, using drug sniffing dogs and taking all labels off pill bottles in the medicine cabinet to prevent prescription drug abuse.

While the original New York Times ad paints Patsy as a renegade video blogger who is disseminating bad advice to keep kids off drugs, the videos are actually created by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America. All videos end with the line, “Don’t be a Patsy” and a link to the Partnership’s Web site, where parents can find advice on preventing youth drug use.

The most interesting element about the Partnership’s campaign is its deliberate creation of this conflict as a platform to engage consumer interest. The last line of the Times ad reads, “And to Patsy herself, we would like to say one thing: maybe it’s time to put down the video camera.” By writing about a “renegade” blogger, the Partnership is acknowledging the blogosphere’s influence, but also using this influence as a strategy to forward its own agenda.

Check out some of Patsy’s videos and let us know what you think.

--Guest Contributor: Matt McLeod, IMC Graduate Student