Super Bowl Propaganda

In what appears to be the US government's biggest single event advertising buy, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy spent over $3.2 million for two 30-second ads aired during the Super Bowl. "It's one thing for Budweiser to spend a small fortune waving the flag; it's another for we taxpayers to foot the bill for ads touting controversial public policies," writes WorkingforChange columnist Geov Parrish. "And what did we get for our money? Blatant propaganda -- specifically, an argument closely linked to the Bush Administration. The Drug Czar's ads focused on the idea that fighting the War on Drugs also helps stop terrorism, because the money your local pusher makes eventually finds its way into the pockets of Osama bin Laden and his various terrorist colleagues."