State Agency Pulls Drug Ad After GoLocal Article - And Vegan Outcry - Part of $500K Campaign
Saturday, July 04, 2020
The advertising agency associated with the state’s new campaign to address illegal fentanyl in drugs is pulling its ad asking, “Did you know your drug dealer is vegan?”
As GoLocalProv.com reported on Friday, the Rhode Island Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities, and Hospital launched a nearly $500,000 awareness campaign along with advertising agency Duffy & Shanley.
The ad that asked, “Did you know your drug dealer is vegan?” was accompanied by the caption, “How well do you know the person who sells you cocaine? Do you trust there’s no illegal fentanyl in there?”
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTRhode Island’s vegan community responded in turn.
Vegans Get Ad Pulled
“What would the hunting community say if vegan was replaced with hunter?” asked Rhode Island vegan activist Lauren Niedel.
“This ad is insulting to the core. It is derogatory and the implications are offensive,” wrote the group "Rhode Island Vegan Awareness" on Facebook. “We need to make sure this campaign ends as soon as possible. In order to get this campaign to end we need a full out call, email and post on social media blitz to stop it. Please share this widely.”
On Friday evening, the group shared they had heard from Jon Duffy at Duffy & Shanley — and that Duffy said the agency would pull the vegan ad.
“This particular ad is a small piece of a larger campaign aimed at raising awareness of the life-threatening consequences of unknowingly using illicit substances that contain fentanyl. The intent was to explain how little many members of the community know about where their substances are coming from. Viewed outside the context of the full campaign, we understand your reaction to this image. We are pulling this image from the campaign immediately, and we sincerely apologize,” said Duffy in a statement.
Duffy served as Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo’s transition team co-chair following her last election, and had made $9,500 in political donations to Raimondo throughout her career.
A new ad began running on Friday, “Do you know your drug dealer’s middle name? Favorite ice cream?”
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