▶Videoyoutube.comStop Overdose (CDC)
CDC Injury Center campaigns for people aged 18-34 who use drugs and the people who support them. CDC counts its Stop Overdose work from 2016; on 27 October 2021 it launched four new campaigns on the dangers of illicit fentanyl, the risks of mixing drugs (polysubstance use), lifesaving naloxone, and reducing stigma around recovery and treatment, developed with young adults who use drugs and peer recovery professionals. Materials (video, radio, digital, Spanish versions) are free for states and localities to run.
- Years
- 2021–now
- Reach
- 4.5B impressions as reported“Reach from 2016 to June 2024: 4.5 billion impressions, 6.8 million website clicks, 42 million video views.”
- Country
- United States
- Topic
- DrugsOpioids
- Asks people to
- RecognizeSeek helpStart
- Strategy
- Self efficacySimple instruction
- Channel
- OutdoorRadioSearchSocial (paid)Website
- Audience
- Young adultsPeople aged 18-34 who use drugs, plus their friends and families.
Evidence
Self-reportedUnknown
CDC's own evaluation (two-pager, last updated Jan 2025): a digital study with a post-only exposed (n=361) vs unexposed (n=361) design, exposure confirmed by ad tagging, and a pre-post radio study on iHeart stations in four markets (n=362 pre, 360 post). Exposure was associated with higher naloxone knowledge, carrying naloxone, fentanyl knowledge and confidence in protecting oneself from overdose; effects were stronger among younger, female and African American respondents. Reach from 2016 to June 2024: 4.5 billion impressions, 6.8 million website clicks, 42 million video views. Sponsor-run and not peer reviewed; no overdose outcome measured.
Sponsor (who paid)
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control Federal government, funder and creator
Credits (who made it)
- Brunet-García Advertising Creative source
- Castaño Group Production source
- Fors Marsh Creative source
Executions (individual ads)
- Protect yourself from the dangers of fentanyl (:60) 2021 · social-organic · youtube
- Protect yourself from the dangers of fentanyl (:30) 2021 · social-organic · youtube
- Protégete de los peligros del fentanilo (:60) social-organic · youtube
- Protect friends and family with lifesaving naloxone (:60) 2021 · social-organic · youtube
- Protect friends and family with lifesaving naloxone (:30) 2021 · social-organic · youtube
- Protect friends and family with lifesaving naloxone (:15) social-organic · youtube
- How to Use Naloxone Nasal Spray (:30) social-organic · youtube
- Understanding the risks of mixing drugs (:60) social-organic · youtube
- Understanding the risks of mixing drugs (:30) social-organic · youtube
- Mixing drugs is not worth the risk of overdose (:30) social-organic · youtube
- No vale la pena arriesgarse a una sobredosis por mezclar drogas social-organic · youtube
- Help keep yourself and others safe from overdose (:30) social-organic · youtube
- Sé tu propio defensor a la hora de prevenir una sobredosis social-organic · youtube
- Understanding addiction to support recovery (:60) social-organic · youtube
- Understanding addiction to support recovery (:30) social-organic · youtube
- CDC Drug Overdose: Stigma (production company upload) social-organic · youtube
- CDC Drug Overdose: Harm Reduction (naloxone; production company upload) social-organic · youtube
- Stop Polysubstance Overdose: The Choice (animated; production company upload) social-organic · youtube
- CDC's Campaigns to Stop Overdose (overview) social-organic · youtube
Related campaigns
- Rx Awareness 2017–now
- One Pill Can Kill 2021–now
- Fentanyl and Naloxone Awareness (ONDCP and Ad Council) 2023–now
Sources
- CDC launches new education campaigns aimed at preventing drug overdose deaths (CDC press release, 27 Oct 2021) sponsor · 2021
- CDC's Stop Overdose campaigns: evaluation summary sponsor
- CDC's campaigns to stop overdose: an executive summary (CDC Stacks) sponsor
- About Stop Overdose (CDC, via Wayback) sponsor
- CDC Polysubstance PSA Video Series (Castaño Group portfolio) archive
Research notes
Launch year: CDC's evaluation counts Stop Overdose from 2016 (earlier CDC overdose campaign work); the four current campaigns were announced 27 Oct 2021, so startYear 2021 is kept for this record. Credits checked 2026-10-22 against fetched pages: Brunet-García Advertising as agency and Castaño Group as production on the stigma and naloxone ('Harm Reduction') spots (YouTube descriptions of MvMz12Cpy9k and l7vzWHnQAzM: 'Agency: Brunet-Garcia Advertising', 'Production: Castaño Group'; director Carla Dauden on the naloxone spot); Fors Marsh as the client agency for the polysubstance animated series (Castaño Group portfolio: 'Client: Fors Marsh'). Fors Marsh acquired Brunet-García (see agencies/brunet-garcia.json and fors-marsh.json). Years for these credits not confirmed (Castaño uploads about 2022; polysubstance series about 2024-25). Execution years left out where the upload date could not be read. Campaign pages: cdc.gov/stop-overdose (2024+) and the older cdc.gov/stopoverdose (Wayback 2022). The Synthetic Opioid Danger Awareness Act (H.R. 2364) would direct an HHS synthetic-opioid education campaign; whether it funds this work was not checked.
Record cases/cdc-stop-overdose.json, updated 2026-10-22· Link to this campaign