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Dose of Reality

“Dose of Reality”

Wisconsin prescription painkiller misuse campaign (US-WI) launched in 2015 by the Wisconsin Department of Justice and relaunched 2 February 2022 as a joint DOJ and Department of Health Services effort covering all opioids including fentanyl, safe storage and disposal, naloxone and treatment; 2021-2024 waves include recovery stories, NARCAN how-to, Drug Take Back spots (English, Spanish, Hmong), 'Fentanyl – Get the Facts', 'I Carry Hope, I Carry Naloxone' and 'Courage, Support, Meds' (medications for opioid use disorder).

Years
2015–now
Country
United States
Budget
$1.7 million PR campaign (2015, WPR).
Topic
DrugsHarm reductionOpioids
Asks people to
Never startSeek helpStartTalk to someone
Strategy
Fear appealSimple instruction
Channel
CinemaOutdoorRadioSocial (organic)Social (paid)TVWebsite
Audience
General publicParentsYouth
English, Spanish and Hmong versions of Drug Take Back spots; naloxone digital and radio ads also offered in Spanish.

Evidence

NoneUnknown

No outcome evaluation found.

Sponsor (who paid)

Credits (who made it)

Executions (individual ads)

Related campaigns

Sources

  1. WPR: DOJ rolls out $1.7M PR campaign to fight opioid abuse in Wisconsin news · 2015
  2. Wisconsin DHS press release: revamped Dose of Reality sponsor · 2022
  3. CBS Minnesota: Minnesota, Wisconsin Take On Opioid Abuse With Dose Of Reality Campaign news
  4. Heley K et al. Reducing Health-Related Stigma Through Narrative Messages. Health Commun reference · 2019 · DOI 10.1080/10410236.2019.1598614 · PMID 31014112
  5. Ledford VA et al. Don't Call Them "Unclean" Or "Unkempt": Analyzing the Harmful Direct and Indirect Effects of Opioid Stigma Marks on Stigmatizing Attitudes and Behavioral Intentions. J Health Commun reference · 2025 · DOI 10.1080/10810730.2025.2552949 · PMID 40898421
  6. Ledford V et al. The Influence of Stigmatizing Messages on Danger Appraisal: Examining the Model of Stigma Communication for Opioid-Related Stigma, Policy Support, and Related Outcomes. Health Commun reference · 2021 · DOI 10.1080/10410236.2021.1920710 · PMID 33941010
  7. Hom JK et al. The impact of news photographs on drug-related stigma: A randomized message testing experiment in a National Sample of US Adults. Prev Med reference · 2025 · DOI 10.1016/j.ypmed.2025.108293 · PMID 40311941
  8. Krendl AC et al. Addiction onset and offset characteristics and public stigma toward people with common substance dependencies: A large national survey experiment. Drug Alcohol Depend reference · 2022 · DOI 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2022.109503 · PMID 35644088
  9. Frkovich J et al. Opioid-Related Public Health Communication Campaigns: An Environmental Scan. Am J Health Promot reference · 2022 · DOI 10.1177/08901171221082471 · PMID 35365055
  10. Wisconsin DOJ press release: Preventing Opioid Harm in Wisconsin Starts with Real Talks (updated Dose of Reality) sponsor · 2022
  11. Wisconsin DHS: Dose of Reality: Opioids, Partner Materials sponsor
  12. DHSWI YouTube playlist: Dose of Reality archive
  13. Madison365 (sponsored content by Wisconsin DHS): Opioid Use Recovery Possible with Courage, Support, and Meds sponsor
  14. BizTimes: AFFIRM wins BMA Best of Show for Wisconsin DOJ Dose of Reality campaign news · 2017
  15. Wisconsin DHS: Opioid settlement funds (state-managed projects) sponsor
  16. Wisconsin DHS: Opioids (doseofrealitywi.gov now redirects here) sponsor · 2026

Research notes

US-WI. Minnesota also used the Dose of Reality brand (shared creative); consider a US-MN execution. Original sponsor is the state attorney general's office, not a health department. Credits checked 2026-10-22 against fetched pages: AFFIRM (Pewaukee) won the 2017 BMA Milwaukee Best of Show and a Bell Award 'for its work on the Wisconsin Department of Justice DOSE OF REALITY campaign' (BizTimes); that covers the 2015-2017 DOJ era only. Unverified (no page found that credits the agency): who produced the 2021-2024 DHS waves; the 2 Feb 2022 DOJ release and the DHS partner page name no agency. 2021+ waves added 2026-10-22 from the DHSWI YouTube 'Dose of Reality' playlist (upload dates used as years) and the DHS partner-materials page, which embeds the Keep Life Going, NARCAN, Fentanyl, I Carry Hope and Courage, Support, Meds videos and offers naloxone billboards, banner ads, radio/streaming audio (English and Spanish), a pre-movie (cinema) Drug Take Back spot and fentanyl test strip ads. 'Courage, Support, Meds' is the DHS medications-for-OUD campaign the Madison365 sponsored piece describes as new (undated); the DHS videos were uploaded August 2024. Real Talks Wisconsin (wi-real-talks-wisconsin) is the separate all-substance DHS/DOJ campaign; 2022 Dose of Reality copy already uses the 'real talks' phrase. Settlement funding: the DHS state-fiscal-year 2025 settlement plan lists a $750,000 'Public awareness campaign' on opioid use disorder, safe prescription use and disposal (status 'No update to provide'); no source ties it to Dose of Reality, so no settlement sponsor entry. Discovered 2026-10-22 for #17 (extended). Ad library search: "Dose of Reality", "Wisconsin Department of Health Services", "Wisconsin Department of Justice", "I Carry Hope". Evaluation links reviewed 2026-10-22: six general opioid-stigma message studies (Heley 2019, Ledford 2021, Ledford 2025, Hom 2025, Krendl 2022, Frkovich 2022 environmental scan) set to reference; none evaluates this campaign. Site status 2026-10-22: redirects (doseofrealitywi.gov goes to the DHS Opioids hub, https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/opioids/index.htm).

Record cases/wi-dose-of-reality.json, updated 2026-10-22· Link to this campaign