▶Videoyoutube.comLooks Legit, Might Be Fentanyl
Also: Might Be Fentanyl · Prevent Overdose WA: Fentanyl Risk
“Looks legit, might be fentanyl.”
Washington State Department of Health (US-WA) youth fentanyl campaign launched in 2025 under the Prevent Overdose WA umbrella for teens 14-18, built around a short jingle and collage animation warning that a pill that "looks legit", came from a friend or was bought on social media might be fentanyl. Ran on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, digital TV, radio, digital audio and billboards near high schools in 10 counties, driving to preventoverdosewa.org/fentanylrisk.
- Years
- 2025–now
- Country
- United States
- Topic
- DrugsHarm reductionOpioids
- Asks people to
- Never startRecognize
- Strategy
- Peer crowdSimple instruction
- Channel
- OutdoorRadioSocial (paid)TVWebsite
- Audience
- YouthWashington teens 14-18; billboards near high schools in 10 counties with higher rates of youth mental illness, drug use and overdose deaths.
Evidence
Self-reportedUnknown
Post-campaign youth survey (agency-reported): 16% recalled the creative; 81% of youth who recalled fentanyl ads remembered at least one main message (about 31% of all respondents). 47K social engagements, 5M+ completed video views, 8M+ audio listens, 93K+ clicks, 72K+ unique site visitors. WARC reports reach of 88% of Washington youth. Shorty Impact Awards finalist; SABRE Awards gold (per WARC).
Sponsor (who paid)
- Washington State Department of Health State local government, funder
Credits (who made it)
Executions (individual ads)
- Prevent Overdose WA | Might be Fentanyl (:15) 2025 · social-paid · youtube
Related campaigns
- Prevent Overdose WA 2023–now
- One Pill Can Kill 2021–now
- Real Deal on Fentanyl 2022–now
- Song for Charlie: fentapills and Real Talk About Fake Pills 2020–now
Sources
- Shorty Impact Awards: Looks Legit, Might Be Fentanyl (entry by C+C and WA DOH) archive
- WARC: Washington State Department of Health: Looks Legit, Might Be Fentanyl (SABRE Awards case, Mar 16, 2026) archive · 2026
- Prevent Overdose WA: Fentanyl Risk page (Wayback, Jan 2026) archive · 2026
- HCA Tribal Opioid Prevention & Education Campaign Workgroup deck (Mar 26, 2025): DOH youth campaign update sponsor · 2025
- Washington SB 5906 (Chapter 216, Laws of 2024): statewide drug overdose prevention and awareness campaign reference · 2024
Research notes
US-WA. Discovered 2026-10-22 for #17. Credits checked 2026-10-22 against fetched pages: C+C named as entrant with DOH on the Shorty entry, which lists C+C staff (Wyatt Curtiss, group creative director; Danielle Janota, ACD; Taylor King, senior producer; Anne Pape, senior art director); Ben Pohl (editor) and Gordon Baker (composer) also credited. Statutory basis: SB 5906 and E2SHB 1956 require DOH's 2024 and 2025 campaigns to focus on fentanyl and youth. Settlement funding not shown. Only one spot found on YouTube; preventoverdosewa.org blocks automated fetch. Ad library search: "Washington State Department of Health", "Might be Fentanyl".
Record cases/wa-might-be-fentanyl.json, updated 2026-10-22· Link to this campaign