U.S. ANTIDRUG CAMPAIGN'S IMPACT TO BE CLOSELY TRACKED BY SURVEYS

The $2 billion federally sponsored campaign to keep kids from using drugs is
putting the government into the unfamiliar business of measuring advertising
effectiveness.

U.S. drug czar Barry R. McCaffrey, a retired four-star general, knows a lot
about accountability in the military. Friday, he said he would hold Madison
Avenue to the same high standard.

"There are no points for style," Gen. McCaffrey said in an address to the
American Association of Advertising Agencies, many of whom provide free
creative work for the campaign, which was launched in 1998. "We've got to
achieve an outcome. We have to change the way Americans act," the general
said at the group's annual meeting in Amelia Island, Fla.

Gen. McCaffrey believes the five-year campaign -- the most expensive ever
launched by the government -- will pay off. But he wants hard numbers to
prove it. That means the campaign also is likely to become the most closely
monitored in U.S. advertising history. The oft-quoted $2 billion price tag
includes in-kind donations as well as federal money.

First, ads must pass a rigorous six-step evaluation. Then their real-world
performance is put under a microscope. The government has hired scientific
survey firm Westat to question about 20,000 children and parents every six
months to measure the campaign's progress. Market researchers also will do
telephone sampling every month or two, for more immediate feedback.

"There's a lot of pressure for us to use the money in the most efficient way
possible," says Shelly Lazarus, chairman and chief executive officer of WPP
Group's Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, which in December won a contract to
coordinate the campaign and place ads nationwide.

If the campaign succeeds, the government will be more likely to boost
funding for other so-called social-marketing programs, such as AIDS
prevention and efforts to combat teen pregnancy and underage drinking,
ad-industry experts say. If it fails, federal money could dry up. Insights
into teen behavior gleaned from Gen. McCaffrey's detailed studies also may
help shape youth antismoking strategies. Last year's tobacco-industry
settlement earmarked $1.45 billion to pay for a national ad campaign.

The early results are encouraging, officials of the Office of National Drug
Control Policy say. Surveys in 12 test cities last year found that awareness
of the antidrug messages increased markedly during a six-month pilot
program, which started in the beginning of 1998. The number of children who
said the ads made them realize drugs are dangerous rose in the test cities,
while declining in 12 cities used as a control group. Calls to antidrug
hotlines rose in the test cities.

Paying for prime air time and ad space has helped the government get out the
antidrug word, as have in-kind contributions from broadcasters and other
media outlets. The value of the donations has more than matched the amount
spent by the agency, officials say. Officials say their target audience of
middle-school students and their parents now see an average of one antidrug
ad a day.

Many of the initial spots were pulled from the inventory of the nonprofit
Partnership for a Drug Free America. One of Gen. McCaffrey's favorites is an
updated version of the "This is your brain on drugs" ads of the '80s, which
showed an egg sizzling in a frying pan. In the newer spot, a young woman
says: "This is your brain. This is your brain on heroin," as she crushes an
egg with a frying pan, then demolishes the kitchen.

Campaign planners also have commissioned ads designed to reach specific
target groups, including Hispanics and African-Americans and
Asian-Americans. Eleven languages are used in the ads. More will be added
soon, including Aleut dialects, so the government can speak to Native
Americans in Alaska. "This is, without a question, the most formidable
multicultural advertising campaign ever mounted by the federal government,"
says Daniel R. Merrick, a senior partner at Ogilvy & Mather.

Ogilvy & Mather has brought in a handful of smaller firms specializing in
advertising for different ethnic groups. All spots also are reviewed by a
panel of academic experts on human behavior. These two groups have provided
advice ranging from the best way to reach Native American audiences (tribal
newspapers and radio) to what kind of images work with Chinese parents (most
of whom have never seen a "joint" and have no idea what the word means).

Most of the advertising aimed at kids is segmented by age and risk factors.
Younger children (ages 9 to 11), respond to stark right-and-wrong messages.
Older children are more likely to see shades of gray. All the ads are rated
to see if they are attention-grabbing, have credibility with the target
audience and are able to change attitudes and, ultimately, behavior.

Shona Seifert, another Ogilvy & Mather senior partner, says kids take the
antidrug message most seriously when it comes from other kids: "The more it
seems like parents talking down to them, the less effective it will be."