‘One puff and you’re in space’: HK pulls AI anti-drug ad after backlash

The Correctional Services Department (CSD) has withdrawn an AI-generated anti-drug advertisement after a "girl group" music video sparked intense online backlash for inadvertently glamorising substance abuse.

The campaign, launched ahead of International Anti-Drug Day, featured a fictional four-member AI girl group in a music video titled "Obsession" (糖衣陷阱). The characters—Weedy (草草), Icy (冰兒), Coke (可樂), and Little E (小悠)—were personifications of cannabis, ice, cocaine, and etomidate (commonly known as "space oil").

The now-removed video featured Weedy telling viewers, "Romantic smoke will help you forget all your troubles. So chill!" Coke declared, “An easy sip keeps your mind sharp. Super dope!" Meanwhile, Little E claimed: "Anti-aging vitamin E comes in fruity flavours. One puff and you're in space.”

After dancing and introducing themselves, the characters transform into aged men with haunting appearances, as a slogan appears on screen: "Drugs are extremely harmful and can ruin a life."

The campaign was pulled shortly after its launch, with the majority of online discussion concentrated in Hong Kong, according to Rodney Ki, business development manager at CARMA. Once the video went live, mentions and discussions grew exponentially overnight as netizens flagged its counterproductive framing.

The incident has driven 45% negative sentiment online, 40% neutral, and 15% positive comments, with netizens mocking the approval process and questioning which managers signed off on the video, while others voiced dissatisfaction over the use of feminised AI characters linked to drug names, according to Ki.

Netizens took to Threads and the CSD's Facebook page to complain that the video seemed to glamorise drugs, MARKETING-INTERACTIVE confirmed. Critics said the opening segment listed the perceived benefits of each substance, making it look more like an advertisement than a warning. Others questioned whether viewers with short attention spans would even reach the anti-drug conclusion. Some even joked that the video made them want to try each of the drugs themselves.

The CSD removed the video on Saturday (27 June) and issued an apology on its Facebook page, saying it would review its entire social media production process to ensure that crime prevention messages are clear and unambiguous, while striking a balance between creativity and public acceptability.

After pulling the original video, the CSD re-uploaded a version with the contentious content removed. But the revised clip also ran into trouble. An online post pointed out a mismatch at the 15-second mark: while the subtitles read "Both drug use and drug trafficking will lead to imprisonment" (無論吸毒還是販毒，都會入獄), the voiceover actually said the exact opposite - "will not lead to imprisonment" (都會唔坐監). This re-edited version was also taken down shortly after.

Responding to media questions at an event yesterday (28 June), Ng Kee Hang, senior superintendent of the CSD, said the AI-generated ad was produced by the department's own multimedia team and involved no additional public expenditure.

Ng explained that the team had wanted to use content that appeals to young people to get the anti-drug message across. But after this incident, they will conduct a full review and be more careful when planning future videos to ensure they are more effective.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to the CSD for a statement.

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This is not the first time a government anti-drug campaign has drawn criticism. In 2021, the Hong Kong Police Force adopted "You only live once" (YOLO) as a slogan to discourage young people from taking drugs. However, netizens were quick to point out the irony, noting that the phrase is commonly understood as an encouragement to live recklessly and take risks, rather than a warning against dangerous behaviour.

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