HONG KONG, June 29 — It was meant to warn young people about the dangers of narcotics. Instead, many viewers joked that it had become an advertisement for them.
Hong Kong’s Correctional Services Department has withdrawn an AI-generated anti-drug campaign after social media users mocked its virtual pop stars for making illegal drugs appear enticing rather than frightening, according to Hong Kong Free Press.
The video, titled Obsession: The Sugar-Coated Trap, featured four animated band members named Weedy, Icy, Coke and Little E — references to cannabis, crystal methamphetamine, cocaine and etomidate, the anaesthetic increasingly known on Hong Kong streets as “space oil.”
Each character introduced themselves with catchy slogans that were intended to illustrate the deceptive appeal of drugs.
Weedy described herself as “romantic smoke” that could help people forget their worries, while Coke claimed she could keep users’ minds sharp. Little E promoted fruity flavours that would take users “to space,” and Icy promised an “out-of-body experience.”
Only at the end of the video did the four youthful performers transform into elderly men as a message warned that drugs could destroy lives.
For many online viewers, the cautionary message arrived too late.
“The most successful drug advertisement ever in Hong Kong,” read one of the most-liked comments on a backup copy of the video circulating on YouTube. Another user joked that after watching it, they wanted “a few bites of each.”
The backlash spread quickly enough that the Correctional Services Department removed the videos on Saturday.
In a statement cited by Hong Kong Free Press, the department said it would better balance “creativity and the public’s level of acceptance” in future campaigns while ensuring anti-drug messages were presented clearly and accurately.
The episode has become the latest example of the difficulties governments face in communicating with younger audiences online, where attempts to speak in the language of internet culture can easily become objects of parody.
It is also not the first time Hong Kong’s anti-drug messaging has drawn ridicule.
In 2021, the Hong Kong Police Force adopted the slogan “You Only Live Once” — better known by its acronym, YOLO — for an anti-drug campaign. Critics quickly pointed out that the phrase is more commonly associated with embracing risky or impulsive experiences than avoiding them.
Earlier this year, the Security Bureau apologised after the placement of an anti-drug advertisement at a Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station created an optical illusion that appeared to read “take drugs” from certain angles.
Hong Kong maintains some of the region’s toughest drug laws. Trafficking or manufacturing illegal drugs carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a HK$5 million (RM2.6 million) fine, while possession or consumption is punishable by up to seven years’ imprisonment and a HK$1 million fine.