You don’t have to be a sleuth to figure out that the #Stonersloth is a flop
The Stoner Sloth has gloriously reaffirmed what we've all suspected (read known) for a very long time; that our Pollies are on dope. They must be on dope because that's the only way that any legitimate Government would actually endorse a campaign against marijuana as inanely ridiculous as the NSW's latest gem which spruiks the tag line "You're worse on weed."
By now I'm sure you've all seen the three Government funded ads created to tackle the ever serious issue of drug addiction in our youth. If by chance you haven't, click on the link below and prepare to be alarmed, confused, and amused in equal measures.
Yep.
Okay, here are my problems with the #StonerSloth campaign.
1) What better way to instil the negative impact of marijuana on young Australians than by using a an endearing South American creature that looks almost exactly like a much loved character in a little known science fiction film enterprise known as STAR WARS! Right? Wrong. Very, very, wrong. That's really not going to have the desired effect guys. It's time to wise up - if you wanted to portray weed as a sinister force turning kids into mental defectives, you should probably have taken a closer look at using Tom Cruise as a marketing tool . Oh no, that was way harsh and probably not an appropriate message to be delivering in the open forum that is the INTERNET.
It kind of reminds me of another inappropriate and poorly thought out message that's been doing the social media rounds. Any idea what it could be? Answer: it's okay to laugh at sloths. Except it totally isn't. It's completely unfair for the Government to defame these Sloths by labelling them lazy, burnt out, brain slugs that are always high. Tsk tsk Government.
2) Now, once you look past the discriminatory treatment these sloths have been branded with, you'll see that the NSW Government is pushing out another disturbing message - they're telling us that it's okay to laugh at, and ridicule, members of our society that may be vulnerable and disadvantaged. While people that can't distinguish between salt and salad might not necessarily be vulnerable or disadvantaged is irrelevant. If we have kids smoking pot and unable to concentrate, maintain focus, and tell salt from salad, I'm pretty sure that turning them into a punchline and making them sound like wounded, demented, wookies, won't help. Maybe it's just me but I think spreading responsible messages centred around education and information, might be key here. I know what you're thinking - Gleeko just got heavy and shit - well I did, but don't worry, that's the last of the moral high ground (yes, 'high' ground heehee) as I don't want to be ruining anybody's buzz.
3) I honestly don't know whether the Sloth in the ad is high on weed, or whether it's meant to be suffering from an acquired brain injury, or some other kind of mental disability.
4) Why choose an animal that isn't native to Australia to be the hero of this sad and pathetic story? I really think Australians could have related better if the drugged up animal was a Koala or something...
To sum up, it's some consolation at least to know that some good has come from this absurd campaign, namely that #StonerSloth is a thing now.
Giggling Gleeko :)
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