The Partnership at Drugfree.org Collaborates with Hill Holliday to Launch "Mind Your Meds" Campaign for The Medicine Abuse Project

Award-Winning Actor/Director Eric Stoltz Directs Powerful Spots

NEW YORK, Sept. 9, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Partnership at Drugfree.org has collaborated with Hill Holliday to launch a new campaign today for The Medicine Abuse Project, a national action campaign from The Partnership at Drugfree.org. The Project's goal is to prevent half a million teens from abusing medicines by 2017. The integrated creative campaign, featuring the tagline "Mind Your Meds," includes national broadcast, print, radio, digital and outdoor public service education messages. The two spots can be viewed here and here.

Actor/Director Eric Stoltz, who has appeared in such films as Mask and Pulp Fiction and has directed television episodes of Glee, Grey's Anatomy, Nip/Tuck and more directed the TV spots, which portray an adult opening a bathroom cabinet for medication. When the mirrored door closes, the reflection is that of a teenager, the implicit message being, "mind your meds." Stoltz is also providing the voiceover for the TV and radio spots. 

Stoltz is affiliated with Disorderly Conduct, the Los Angeles-based commercial production company headed by Kate Cohen, Marisa Polvino and Executive Producer Ron Cicero who helped make the "Mind Your Meds" campaign possible. Disorderly Conduct is a division of Straight Up Films, the feature film company co-producing Transcendence with Johnny Depp as well as the Natalie Portman film Jane Got a Gun.

"As I directed these TV spots, I was shocked to find out how dangerous the abuse of medicine really is, especially among teenagers," said Stoltz. "Having recently lost a dear friend of mine to drug addiction, I wanted to help show that there is something you can do to help protect your families and loved ones."

Teen medicine abuse is a pervasive and devastating problem, with one in four teens admitting to using a prescription drug to get high or change their mood. [1] Most teens who report medicine abuse say they get those medications from their family or friends. [2] The Medicine Abuse Project is a multi-year effort led by The Partnership at Drugfree.org and is designed to help combat this public health crisis deemed an "epidemic" by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"It's always a great feeling when you can do meaningful work that can make a difference in the lives of young people," said Lance Jensen, Chief Creative Officer of Hill Holliday. "This is an important issue and we hope this work really gets people talking."

"What an honor it has been to work with Hill Holliday on this important initiative," said Kristi Rowe, Director of Branding and Integrated Marketing for The Partnership at Drugfree.org. "Their dedication and strategic approach to the creative concept, combined with Eric Stoltz's passion and vision for the TV spots, has resulted in a 'sticky' campaign that will help educate parents about what they can do to prevent this dangerous behavior."  

The Medicine Abuse Project aims to help educate parents, teens and the public about the dangers of medicine abuse and unite parents, educators, health care providers, coaches, government officials, law enforcement officers and other partners to help save lives.

For more information, please visit The Medicine Abuse Project.

About The Partnership at Drugfree.org
Ninety percent of addictions start in the teenage years. The Partnership at Drugfree.org is dedicated to solving the problem of teen substance abuse. Together with experts in science, parenting and communications, the nonprofit translates research on teen behavior, addiction and treatment into useful and effective resources for both individuals and communities. Working toward a vision where all young people will be able to live their lives free of drug and alcohol abuse, The Partnership at Drugfree.org works with parents and other influencers to help them prevent and get help for drug and alcohol abuse by teens and young adults. The organization depends on donations from individuals, corporations, foundations and the public sector and is thankful to SAG-AFTRA and the advertising and media industries for their ongoing generosity. If you or someone you know is struggling with drug or alcohol abuse, please call The Parents Toll-Free Helpline at 1-855-DRUGFREE.

About Hill Holliday
Hill Holliday is proud to be among the top marketing agencies in the country, with 950 employees in Boston, New York, Detroit, South Carolina, and Miami. We work on some of the nation's largest, most demanding, and complicated pieces of business, and our success came by taking nothing for granted. We were founded in 1968 by four self-described "ad guys" and today we bring unbeatable talent and expertise to every area of communications on behalf of industry leaders like Cadillac, Verizon Wireless, Bank of America, Liberty Mutual, Dunkin' Donuts, (RED), Major League Baseball, John Hancock, Chili's, CIGNA, and Novartis. For more about our people, our work, and our culture, please visit http://www.hhcc.com.

CREDITS:
Agency: Hill Holliday

TV Production:
Chief Creative Officer: Lance Jensen
SVP, Management Supervisor: Amy Hardcastle
SVP, Group Creative Director – Art: Kevin Daley
SVP, Group Creative Director – Copy: Tim Cawley
VP, Executive Producer: Alex Vainstein
Broadcast Assistant: Maggie Flatley, Kevin Boyle
VP Director of Project Management: Paul Pantzer
Project Manager: Jennifer Dodds

Radio Production:
SVP, Management Supervisor: Amy Hardcastle
SVP, Group Creative Director – Copy: Tim Cawley
Broadcast Assistant: Maggie Flatley, Kevin Boyle

Production Company: Disorderly Conduct 
Director: Eric Stoltz
Executive Producer: Ron Cicero

Line Producer:  Alana Mitnick
Director of Photography:  Crash
Art Director:  Brad Cohen

Editorial:  Whitehouse Post
Editor: Trish Fuller
Producer: Alejandra Alarcon

VFXs, Transfer and Conform: MPC
Telecine: Derek Hansen
Compositing: Alex Harding, Sohee Sohn, Jon McKee, Mikael Pettersson & Derrick Yuen
Producer:  John Skeffington
EP: Justin Brukman

Animation: Scott Woolwine, Hill Holliday

Original Music: Human

Record & Mix: Soundtrack Boston
Engineer: Brian Heidebrecht

Voice Over: Eric Stoltz 

Secured Donated Ad Space: Horizon Media

[1] 2011 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study, sponsored by MetLife Foundation

[2] National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH)

SOURCE The Partnership at Drugfree.org