Future Self
Also: I'm you in 10 years
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services youth anti-marijuana ads (US-MI) launched in December 2019 for ages 14-21 on social media, online video and audio and streaming, in which an older adult lectures his younger self; after criticism from the cannabis industry and advocates, at least five ads were removed and the TV buy paused in January 2020.
- Years
- 2019–2020
- Country
- United States
- Budget
- About USD 300,000 from a federal Substance Abuse (Prevention and Treatment) Block Grant; about USD 100,000 spent on focus groups, production and agency fees (Gongwer, January 2020).
- Topic
- CannabisDrugs
- Asks people to
- Never start
- Strategy
- Fear appealHumor
- Channel
- Social (paid)TV
- Audience
- Young adultsYouth
Evidence
NoneUnknown
No evaluation found; ads were withdrawn after public criticism.
Sponsor (who paid)
- Michigan Department of Health and Human Services State local government, funder and creator
Credits (who made it)
Not recorded yet.
Sources
Research notes
Drafted by Claude (Claude Code) on 2026-10-28 for #130 from the sources listed; unreviewed, including the cardSummary. US-MI. Strategy tags (fear-appeal, humor) are my reading of the 'future self' concept; check. Campaign name 'Future Self' is the ad's name per ClickOnDetroit; no campaign brand found. Agency not named. A useful negative case: pulled for tone, not for evidence. Ad library search: "Michigan Department of Health and Human Services" marijuana.
Record cases/mi-future-self.json, updated 2026-10-28· Link to this campaign