ANTI-DRUG AGENCY SETS ANNUAL BANQUET

Program Will Focus On How Advertising Can Make People Vulnerable.

LAKELAND -- Awareness of the aims of advertising could make people
less vulnerable to being influenced, according to the Drug Prevention
Resource Center.

"Media Literacy as a Prevention Strategy" is the focus of the center's
19th annual banquet Thursday.

A specific concern will be how advertisers are targeting children for
alcohol and tobacco use, said Angie Ellison, the center's executive
director.

"We are trained from birth to be consumers," said Ellison. "The
purpose of advertising is to make money by forming a connection
between a feeling and a product.

"Being educated will make young people ask if that product really will
make them feel happy, thin or rich like the people appear to be in the
commercials," Ellison said.

The guest speaker for the banquet will be Peter DeBenedittis, who has
a doctorate in speech communication and is president of Media Literacy
for Prevention in Santa Fe, N.M.

DeBenedittis worked in advertising for 10 years before becoming a
consultant on media education and prevention. He is a regular keynote
speaker at media education conventions and has worked with the
American Medical Association, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention and the White House Office on Drug Policy.

At the banquet, DeBenedittis will talk about the subtle ways alcohol
and drugs are used in advertising, Ellison said.

The Drug Prevention Resource Center will also introduce DeBenedittis'
program, "Seduce Me," a national initiative to educate students and
parents on the connection between the media, substance or alcohol
abuse and violence.

The center is training a staff to implement the program at local PTA
groups, church organizations and civic groups.

"We specifically want to make adults aware of the images in song
lyrics and online advertising that tend to objectify women," Ellison
said. "Not being educated can lead to bad choices and being sucked
into a mindset that this is acceptable."