Innovative advertising campaign highlights risks of taking cocaine

A new TV and online FRANK advertising campaign was launched by the Government on December 4, 2008 which highlights the dangers of cocaine use.

The campaign is centred on ‘Pablo the drug mule dog’, who died as he was being used to smuggle cocaine into the country. The dog is shown waking from the dead as he goes on a mission to find out the truth about the risks and consequences of taking the drug. The advertisements are aimed at 15 to 18-year-olds and signpost young people to the FRANK website.

Approximately 80 per cent of the cocaine used in the UK comes from Colombia, where increased production of the drug is driving armed violence, kidnapping, terrorism, use of illegal landmines and having a devastating environmental impact through deforestation and water contamination.

The UK Government supports the Colombian Government’s ‘Shared Responsibility’ campaign to demonstrate the devastating environmental impact of cocaine production, fuelled by the demand for cocaine here in the UK.

FRANK will also launch a new action pack to help those working with young people to understand the complexity of issues surrounding cocaine and how they can link their work to the new campaign. Full of information, facts and statistics and activity ideas, it explains what the law says, why cocaine is a problem and the dangers associated with its use.

The FRANK action pack can be downloaded from www.drugs.home office.gov.uk/

The Government’s Drug strategy, Drugs: protecting families and communities, was published in February 2008 and can be found at http://drugs.homeoffice.gov.uk/publication-search/drug-strategy/drug-strategy-2008