Thread: Failed Stoner Sloth ad campaign proves comedy gold for online parodies

HEALTH and drug experts have bent over backwards to distance themselves from the NSW government’s anti-marijuana adverts that have been mercilessly mocked.



The National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre has publicly asked the government to dissociate the organisation from the controversial stoner sloth ad campaign releasing a statement saying they only provided general recommendations to the creative agency responsible.

“NCPIC was not advised of or consulted about (the) creative concept,” the statement reads.

It is understood that advertising giant Saatchi & Saatchi is behind the campaign, reports Mumbrella.

But while the ads have been an unmitigated disaster for those responsible, they have proved comedy gold for content creators with a number of parodies appearing online lampooning the anti-drug initiative.

Here are a few of the best:

SAY NO TO THE WHITE DEATH
Of the three ads released by the NSW government, one depicts the struggling sloth unable to pass the salt at the dinner table before inexplicably passing the salad.
Many online joked that it was in fact a thoughtful effort by the creature to limit his mum’s sodium intake and it wasn’t long before a parody was created revealing the sloth’s altruistic motive.

The parody version titled “But mum, salt is bad for you!” is a tongue-in-cheek community service announcement against high levels of salt consumption.
When asked to pass the salt, the pained groans of the sloth are subtitled for the audience as he worries about his mum’s blood pressure.

Meanwhile a serious voice-over details the harmful effects of salt. “Excess salt in your diet comes with risks like high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke ... So tonight, don’t pass the salt, pass the salad,” the ad urges.



It seems the message was more palatable for some viewers in contrast to the original.
“This is a brilliant parody! Salt is more harmful to the human body than cannabis in excess,” wrote the top commenter on YouTube.

AN ACT OF PETTY SABOTAGE

A separate parody made by the same account takes aim at the party scene ad in which the sloth’s inability to engage in banter costs his mate the company of two female partygoers.

The parody is a little more left-of-field and portrays a disgruntled sloth who was dragged to “another boring party” on Saturday night instead of being curled up on the couch at home.

In the clip, the sloth’s anti-social behaviour is explained by his disinterest for the party as the narrator offers a rather peculiar justification for the inaudible groans of the creature.



STONER TONY
Another parody being widely shared to the delight of Aussie netizens appropriates both the message and the melancholic music of the ads, seamlessly placing them over one of Tony Abbott’s most memorable gaffes.

The original video displays the stunned silence of Abbott who is completely unable to offer a response to a Channel Seven journalist offering him a chance to clarify his comments about the death of an Australian soldier back in 2011.

The parody ends with the same “you’re worse on weed” message after the then opposition leader is shown struck by a remarkably similar paralysis as the sloth featured in the anti-marijuana ads.



The stoner sloth campaign and the resulting fallout has been picked up by international media with some labelling the global attention as “embarrassing” for Australia.

While the campaign has had an unpredictably large reach, the character at the centre of it looks set to become an ephemeral piece of Australian pop culture as people ironically embrace the stoner sloth.

Along with a slew of memes and parodies, a number of people have popped up selling stoner sloth merchandise in hopes of cashing in on Australia’s latest animal celebrity.



Stoner sloth mocked in online parodies

Unfortunately, I fear that this thread may start off DJPrat again, but this was too funny not to share.

That can't be an Australian t-shirt.... it's got sleeves FFS !