Amidst all the glitz and glamour of the 80s and 90s, there was also a growing concern about the prevalence of drug use. The anti-drug movement of the 1980s was a time when parents, educators, and lawmakers banded together to educate the public about the dangers of drug abuse.
From the iconic “This Is Your Brain on Drugs” commercial featuring a frying egg to the chilling “I Learned This By Watching You” ad where a father confronts his son about drug use, these TV spots were intended to be powerful tools in the fight against substance abuse. In hindsight, they were not only not effective, but they were hilariously clumsy attempts to solve a national crisis through fear or making drug use look uncool. Let’s take a nostalgic trip down memory lane and explore the history of the anti-drug psas that ran throughout the 80s and early 90s.
1. This Is Your Brain on Drugs (1997, smashing egg w/Rachel Leigh Cook)
2. This Is Your Brain on Drugs (1987, fried egg)
3. I Learned It By Watching You (Parents Who Do Drugs)
4. You Got a Right to Say No (To Drugs)
5. This is Crack (1991, starring Pee Wee Herman)
6. Snake
7. I’m Not a Chicken, You’re a Turkey (featuring TMNT)
8. This Is The Way It’s Been
9. High for a Night, Slow for a Month
10. Penny
11. Stop It, Get Some Help (Featuring Michael Jordan for McDonald’s)
12. Just Say No (Featuring Mr. T)
13. Wasted Days, Wasted Nights, Wasted Life
14. You Better Know What You’re Jumping Into
15. Straight Up
16. I Helped
17. Guess Where The Other 60% Live
18. Loser
19. I’m Here, Find Me
20. I Don’t Want to Look and Feel Like This
21. Don’t Blow This One
Drug addiction is obviously an incredibly serious issue. If you or a loved one is struggling with substance abuse, the Partnership to End Addiction has lots of great resources to help.
