Alabama Gov. Bob Riley, U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, the state congressional delegation and all of the state’s district attorneys on Friday officially launched Zerometh, a multimedia methamphetamine awareness program that will include broadcast and print ads, billboards and a Web site using cutting edge design to deliver its message to teens and young adults.“Created on a limited budget, the TV, print, outdoor and Web site (www.zerometh.com) waste no time in attacking the problem and talking straight to Alabama teens,” according to a press release. “Ken Davis, president of the Alabama District Attorneys Association, said ‘having limited resources made us focus our efforts. We are building an anti-brand with Zerometh that speaks directly to our audience, giving them defining and life-lasting impressions of the dangers of this horrible drug.’”
The press release goes on to single out Talladega County District Attorney Steve Giddens as being “instrumental in the creation of the Zerometh Campaign. Drawn from real life experiences with the effects of methamphetamine, Giddens brought a front line prosecutor’s viewpoint to this critical initiative.”
“This campaign was born out of the stark realization of what meth abuse and addiction is doing to our country. We realized that the best way to cure the addiction was to prevent it from ever taking place to begin with. It didn’t take long for us to realize that other district attorneys were having the same problems. Alabama’s 42 district attorneys really jumped on board quickly and our concept was born,” Giddens said. “The creation of the Zerometh campaign is something all Alabamians can participate in and be proud of.
“Our goal in Talladega County, and across Alabama, is to end this epidemic. This has become a top priority for my office and local law enforcement. We are proud to be able to create such an important impression for our children and save lives,” he said.
“Prosecutions is something I am for, and so is everyone else, but you need education as well,” Giddens added. “You have some very powerful, very graphic pictures and TV commercials that will show what this drug really does. Yes, they are graphic and they are very intense, but that is what’s necessary.”
In addition to the Web site, which contains information on the effects of methamphetamine use, recent news stories and links for those seeking help for their addiction, the next major thrust will be a series of three television commercials “portraying haunting effects of methamphetamine addiction,” according to the press release. “The commercials are disturbing portraits of addiction. They focus on the raw and gritty world of the physical and emotional destruction experienced by a meth addict’s inevitable decline. Each spot observes average teens succumbing to the effects of the drug in frightening progression.”
The spots, as well as some of the coming print and billboard ads, may also be viewed on the Web site. There is also a brief message from each of the state’s district attorneys on the site.
In the press release, Davis says, “We hope to generate a general understanding and widespread awareness of meth. The goal is to arm our children with explicit, first-hand knowledge of meth use without ever having to come near the drug.”
Riley and members of the congressional delegation toured two high schools Friday morning to promote the new program. Giddens said he would have liked to attend, but was preparing for a capital murder case that is scheduled to go to trial Monday.
