Drug abuse has become a major issue within American teenagers. Most adults with drug addictions admit to having started taking drugs even before they turned 18. The majority of drug addictions begin with smoking marijuana, which most kids think is harmless and will not lead to something worse. In the Ad campaign by Above the Influence, two rats are metaphorically representing teenagers and their vulnerability to drugs. By looking at the subjects, design, colors and lighting, symbolism, text, and details, in Above the Influence’s “What’s the Worst That Could Happen?’’ advertisement, we can see that teenagers doing drugs is the same thing as rats taking rat poisoning, which most people do not see. This is important because the advertisers make teenagers feel hesitant to take drugs, and prevents them from doing so. 

This advertisement portrays two main subjects, both of which are metaphorically representing something else. The first subject is the box of “Rat-X” lying on the floor. Otherwise known as rat poison, “Rat-X” is obviously extremely harmful to rats.  The second subject are the rats, which are being portrayed as two teenage friends. By doing so, we can see that this advertisement is targeted specifically towards teenagers. This makes the viewer think about either themselves if they are a teenager, or think about his or her teenage child, and ponder the dangers of taking drugs. By having two subjects that directly relate to each other, the viewer creates a connection between each of them, and recognizes the danger that Rat-X is to Rats, just as drugs are dangerous to teenagers. 

The design in this advertisement heavily reflects on the lifestyle of teenagers who engage in drug use. The photo itself is asymmetrical and provides no sense of form and order. The bed does not appear to be aligned against a wall, but rather it is diagonal in the center of the room. There is a spilled box of rat poison on the floor. The lack of form and order in this advertisement depicts the messy and careless lifestyle of teenagers who are involved with substance abuse. The lack of form and order is intended to disgust the audience and veer them away from involving themselves in this unappealing lifestyle. 

Both the use of colors and lighting are crucial to highlighting the most important points that the advertiser wants to convey. The majority of the advertisement is monotone and bland, making it all blend in to the viewer. In contrast, the bot of “Rat-X” is a bright yellow, which is seen nowhere else throughout the ad. This draws attention to the box, forcing the reader to notice what it is. The reader is elicited with fear to see that it is poison that the rats are consuming. Also, lighting is used in this advertisement to highlight the most significant parts for the reader to easily notice. The area in the ad where the two rats are sitting is clearly lit, and the viewer is able to see the suspicious hand off taking place between the two animals. Also standing out, where there seems to be a single spot light on, is the box of “Rat-X” on the floor. By highlighting only these two parts, it makes it easier for the viewer to connect the interaction between the rats with the poison on the floor. 

This advertisement is heavily symbolic and is essentially entirely metaphoric. Easily understood, the rats are symbolizing teenagers. The “Rat-X” is symbolizing drugs, both of which are poisonous substances. In a metaphorical sense, rats willingly taking rat poison is the same concept as teens taking drugs, and thus killing their bodies. The symbolism works very well in this advertisement for many reasons. For one, no teenager wants to be seen as a disgusting rodent like a rat, and second, no teenager would contemplate taking poison like these rats are doing. The symbolism and metaphor supports the advertisers goal of preventing teenagers from involving themselves with drugs.

Although it is not the most prominent part of the advertisement, the text is very influential on making the viewer think. In the bottom right portion of the advertisement, the phrase, “What’s the worst that could happen?” is asked, in a relatively small font size. This is clearly a rhetorical question because when rats take rat poisoning, it results in death or harm to its body. This concept is easily understood by the viewers. Oftentimes, teenagers engage in taking drugs because they have the “that won’t happen to me” mindset, and do not believe that they will be the one that is harmed or killed. The rhetorical question results in making the viewer think twice about how dangerous drugs can actually be, and all of the life threatening effects is can have on him. Although small, the text is an important piece of the advertisement, in the way that it makes the viewers nervous to actually think about the worst that can happen when they do drugs.

Details in this advertisement help to prevent teenagers from engaging in drug use. Both of the rats portrayed have very human-like features- wearing clothing, sitting up, having legs and arms, and are acting in a human-like manner. More detail has been used on the left rat, as she has her shoulders shrugged over and is holding onto her leg, as though she were nervous. She is clearly exhibiting some hesitation and feat about taking the drug being offered to her. Finer details include the cat poster on the wall, the stickers and teddy bear on the trunk to the right, and the pink telephone on the floor. All of these details depict a sense of innocence within these rat teenagers, and cause the viewer to be disappointed in them for taking drugs. Once teenagers take a step back to think about what it is they are really doing, and how much of their innocence will be gone after doing drugs, they will no longer want to partake. The details used by Above the Influence in this advertisement frightens teenagers, causing them to stay away from drugs.

Above the Influence’s use of subjects, design, colors and lighting, symbolism, text, and details effectively discourages teenagers from using drugs in their “What’s the Worst That Could Happen?” advertisement. They use each of these aspects to portray the message that teenagers taking drugs is in essence the same concept as rats willingly taking rat poison. No one wants to die from poison and no teenager especially wants to be seen as a rat. Although it is becoming a major problem among American teenagers, Above the Influence helps fight against the use of drugs. Being a teenager can a challenging task when faced with pressure to drink alcohol or do drugs on a daily basis, but it is important to realize the dangers and to stay above the influence. 
