Stoner sloth anti-marijuana campaign goes viral for all the wrong reasons

NOPE, that’s not Chewbacca’s girlfriend. This bizarre anti-marijuana campaign starring a stoner sloth has to be seen to be believed.

“DRUGS are bad, mmkay?”

That’s the message of the NSW state government’s new anti-pot social media campaign, but it’s turned out to be an epic fail.

The bizarre #stonersloth campaign features male and female version of hairy sloth-headed teenager, too incapacitated by the wacky weed to participate fruitfully in school, social and family life.

While sitting a class test, hanging at a backyard party and sitting at the family dinner table, these drug-affected creatures communicate only in feeble grunts and moans, unable to write a single word on a test paper, converse with their peers or even fulfil a request to pass the salt.

Their schoolmates, siblings and friends shake their heads in disgust and mutter: “stoner sloth.”

“You’re worse on weed”, the tagline reads.

The campaign has its own Tumblr, complete with gifs made from scenes and outtakes from the YouTube clip, with titles like “Stoned at dinner and the struggle is too real”.

The site also links to drug and alcohol information service Your Room.

The reaction on social media to the Reefer Madness-style clip has been equal parts scathing and hilarious, with some pointing out that, if anything, the campaign reinforces pot’s illicit appeal to rebellious teens.

“This video encouraged me to throw away ALL my pot syringes,” one YouTube commenter wrote.

“I used to inject 4 majijuana a day in my eyes with my grandmother money. Now that I stoped being a stonersloth, I found a job in a spaceship -Chewbacca,” another wrote.

The dinner table scene has already inspired a T-shirt featuring a sloth and the slogan “pass the salt”.

It’s retailing for $23.94, around the street price of a gram of marijuana.

The struggle is real.

Even more embarrassing for the creators of the advert, it emerged that “stoner sloth” was, in fact, the name of a well-known online weed dealer, SBS reports.

On a more serious note, it was pointed out that a party scene depicts teens drinking from the red cups that are ubiquitous at alcohol-fuelled American frat parties, which appears to suggest that they are drinking.

“The part I hated was the party one. They’re saying it’s OK and cool to drink and you are normal but weed is bad,” the commenter wrote.

“Alcohol is so much worse in many ways including bad for your body and brain and makes you do stupid stuff.”

Over on Twitter, Premier Mike Baird weighed in.

Just saw the #StonerSloth ads. Not sure where NSW Gov's ad guys found Chewbaccas siblings, but those videos are... Quite something.

— Mike Baird (@mikebairdMP) December 19, 2015

This provoke a bewildered response from those who pointed out to Mr Baird “these are... your ads”.

“You gov just can’t get it right on drugs, it seems,” another wrote.

The National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre has said it will demand that the NSW Premier’s department retract its claim that the centre’s research lay behind the ill-fated campaign, Fairfax reports.

Anyway, we kinda think Mr Mackey said it best.

#StonerSloth is a brain fart using internet buzzwords to be 'in with the kids' Super patronising to a very well information resourced youth.

— Elisha May (@HiElishaMay) December 19, 2015

Another absurd and ineffective government anti-drug ad. How does a sloth roll a joint with those claws anyway? #stonersloth

— Henrietta Cook (@henriettacook) December 19, 2015

Really dislike the drug but was a single young person consulted in the making of these stupid ads? Nobody will take #stonersloth seriously

— Max Walden (@maxwalden_) December 18, 2015

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Originally published as Stoner sloth anti-marijuana campaign goes viral for all the wrong reasons