NEW ADS BLAST DRUG USE

Remember that old commercial that pictured a fried egg with the message,
"This is your brain on drugs"? Well, the "just say no" anti-drug ad from
the Reagan years has been given a 1990s twist.

The federal government is spending megacash - $195 million - this year to
plaster the airwaves with anti-drug messages. One of the spots in the ad
campaign, which kicked off on Thursday, updates the fried egg ad by
dramatizing the effects of heroin use. It shows a Winona Ryder look-alike
bust up an egg and her whole kitchen with a frying pan.

The anti-drug campaign will cost more money in its first year than
corporate giants Sprint or Nike each spent on last year's ad budgets.
Overall, the five-year project could cost more than a billion dollars.

During the campaign's kickoff in Atlanta, both President Clinton and Newt
Gingrich said that if the campaign helps stop teen drug use, it'll be money
well spent.

"Over the next five years, we will help make sure that young people . . .
get the powerful message that drugs are wrong, are illegal and can kill
people," Clinton said. He said the ads "were designed to knock America
upside the head" and get people's attention.

The new campaign comes at a time when surveys have found that more kids are
trying drugs at younger ages. In a 1997 national survey, nearly one-third
of 8th graders and one-half of high school seniors reported using illegal
drugs at least one.

The ads, aimed at 9- to 18-year-olds, started appearing Thursday in 75
major newspapers and four major TV networks. The goal is to hit the average
family at least four times a week either through TV, radio, newspapers,
billboards or the Internet.

Checked-by: (Joel W. Johnson)