Development of An Aspirational Campaign to Prevent Youth Substance Use: “Be under Your Own Influence”

Abstract

We describe the development of a media campaign that decreased the uptake of substances by 40% among middle-school students. The campaign, “Be Under Your Own Influence,” is unique in its focus on the incongruence of drugs with achieving future aspirations and personal autonomy, themes which have received scant attention to date. Other distinctive features of the campaign include in-school distribution as well as media advocacy and other community-based efforts. The article will describe conceptual frameworks and formative research used to inform campaign development and implementation. The discussion will identify factors that may have enhanced success, as well as implications for social marketing efforts.