Brand: Laced & Lethal
Campaign: “Laced & Lethal Teens”
Agency: Rescue

Opioid-laced drugs have always been a risk when using narcotics, but the strength of tasteless, odorless, minuscule fentanyl grains exponentially increases that danger.

In the midst of an alarming rise in fatal opioid overdoses among its teenage residents, King County, Washington turned to Rescue for help. Rather than dissuade substance use, they asked us to create an educational campaign explaining the dangers inherent in substances brought on the street and inform teens on where to get and how to use naloxone (a medication that can reverse the effects of an overdose).

Ultimately, our success depended on our ability to garner trust: Teens needed to understand that they would not face punishment for carrying naloxone and calling for help in the event of an overdose. Aside from a website, we worked to meet our audience where they were, by creating flyers, posters, and handouts containing step-by-step instructions for using naloxone and QR code links to locations offering free naloxone.

Within a week of launching Laced & Lethal Teens, all of the sites offering free naloxone were cleared of their inventory, placing hundreds of naloxone kits in the hands of King County’s teenage residents who could potentially stop an overdose and save a life.