The 'Stonersloth' campaign has been derided on social media, with many mocking the ads.
The campaign has gone viral not because its message has been enthusiastically embraced by the youth target audience, but because it shares the same name as an online weed dealer.
The social media campaign uses videos, GIFs, Facebook and Tumblr to spread the message "You're worse on weed'.
An actor dressed in an animal sloth suit is used in a number of scripted scenarios to convey the negative consequences of being a cannabis user.
Hashtags have been used to encourage shareability, including the misspelled #embarrasing, #fail and #examfail.
Jointly released by the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet and St Vincent's Alcohol and Drug Information Service, the campaign is "designed to raise awareness among teens of the risks and consequences of using recreational cannabis".
Opposition health spokesman Walt Secord said the campaign has missed the mark and the state government needs to rethink it.
"It is an ad that has become a subject of ridicule amongst young people - and that's who we're targeting with these ads," he told the ABC. "Now, it is a complex area, it's a tough line to walk. But I think the government has failed on this."
Meanwhile, Premier Mike Baird said he has been surprised by the campaign.
"Just saw the #StonerSloth ads. Not sure where NSW Gov's ad guys found Chewbaccas siblings, but those videos are... Quite something," Mr Baird said in a message posted on Twitter.
The National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre (NCPIC) said they are requesting corrections be made to claims by the NSW Premier's department that the centre's research underpinned the creative ad campaign.
"They have used our name to cover this campaign...We are going to ask them to print a retraction that it is based on work that we did," NCPIC director Jan Copeland told Fairfax Media.
Professor Copeland said the centre did provide general recommendations on cannabis harm campaigns in Australia and globally, but was not involved in the creative ad campaign.
She said public awareness campaigns needed to be tested with the target audience to ensure they avoid sensationalism and the campaign potentially backfiring.
"Associating a sloth with people being intoxicated may convey a positive appeal to people being intoxicated rather than the intended negative message."
Share
