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In a rather hilarious turn of events, the Hong Kong government has produced an anti-drug campaign that seems to be promoting drug use instead of vilifying it. The controversial video has been swiftly removed since blowing up against its original intent, but as ever, Hong Kong netizens have been quick to screencap, reupload, and mock the blunder.
The Correctional Services Department (CSD) originally posted the video titled ‘Obsession: The Sugar-Coated Trap’ on its social media channels on Friday, June 26. The AI-generated video features a group of four female performers in a band called Obsession, styled similar to a K-pop girl group, each representing a different drug. Bizarrely, the Cantonese-speaking performers take turns going through what makes each drug attractive, before proclaiming, “Who wants to join us?”
The character named Icy, meant to represent crystal meth, claims that “one inhale will feel so good that your soul leaves your body”. A girl dressed in green named Grassy, meant to represent cannabis, states, “With romantic smoke rings, a single stick will make you forget all your worries – so chill.” Meanwhile, the character Cola, representing cocaine, proclaims that “coke is refreshing, goes down easy, and keeps your mind alert – super dope!”, while the AI-generated girl for etomidate space oil declares “vitamin E prevents aging, and even comes in fruit flavours. One puff will take you to space.”
Apart from being pretty cringe-worthy, it’s easy to see why social media users immediately started trashing the video for promoting drug use rather than discouraging it. The CSD quickly edited and uploaded a new version, which shows the four girl group members suddenly transforming into ugly old men who end up locked in jail, but by then the damage had been done.
The internet was already doing what it does best: memeing the hell out of this government gaffe. Everything from image sets and sticker packs to song parodies and even sarcastic fan pages of the AI girl group quickly cropped up and were shared everywhere.
The department eventually deleted the video from their Facebook page on Saturday evening, later posting a statement apologising for the ad’s questionable production and thanking netizens for their opinions. Watch the second version of the anti-drug ad here.
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