Meta Wants Parents to Drop the 'F' Bomb to Tell Kids About Fentanyl

Parents, don’t be shy about dropping the “F” word in front of your kids. That’s the message of a new Meta/Ad Council campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of fentanyl—which is undetectable by taste, color or smell, making it a deadly, invisible foe when added to other drugs to make counterfeit pills.

The Ad Council teamed up with Meta’s Creative Shop for “Drop the F*Bomb,” a campaign running on Facebook and Instagram that targets parents of teens and young adults. In a trio of ads, parents have their mouths blurred when they, assumedly, say a swear word.

But the controversial word in this case is fentanyl, and each parent slaps the pixelation from their face, ensuring viewers hear them say fentanyl’s name. Each video explains different reasons why the drug is dangerous and how it’s unfortunately found anywhere kids hang out.

“Using the ‘F-word’ with kids may be taboo, but talking to them about the facts, dangers and prevalence of fentanyl should not be. The risk of not having these conversations is too high,” says Michelle Hillman, chief campaign development officer at the Ad Council.

Per the Ad Council, fentanyl was found in 77 percent of adolescent overdose deaths in the first half of 2021.

In addition, Meta created a website that offers ways to broach the topic of fentanyl with teens and features videos of the parents from the ads dropping the “F bomb” on their kids.

“The campaign highlights the dangers of fentanyl in an easily digestible way for parents, helping them understand why the issue is relevant to their families—even if they don’t suspect their children would engage in substance use,” Hillman tells Muse.

CREDITS

Ad Council:
Michelle Hillman, Chief Campaign Development Officer 
Ro Patrick, SVP, Group Campaign Director 
Monica Hunter, Campaign Director 
Hadley Britt, Assistant Campaign Manager 
Ben Dorf, VP, Marketing & Communications 
Khalem Charles, Assistant Manager, Marketing & Communications 
Anuar Saab, Manager, Strategy & Evaluation 
Cat Boyce, Digital Product Manager 

Meta Creative Shop:
Allison Brown (Creative Lead)
Eddie Bennett (Strategy Lead)
Illen Asmerom (Strategy Lead)
Chris Talamo
Jesse Lee
Annie Foster
Tris Gates
Chris Kennedy