Governor’s Public Safety Subcabinet Anti-Meth Communications Campaign Earns Telly Awards

Prestigious honor awarded to two television commercials communicating the consequences of violating tougher meth laws

NASHVILLE – An anti-methamphetamine communications campaign created by the Governor’s Public Safety Subcabinet has earned three prestigious national advertising awards. The Telly Awards honor two television commercials included in the campaign, which was part of Gov. Bill Haslam’s first term public safety action plan.

“The purpose of the campaign was to communicate the consequences of violating tougher meth laws passed under Governor Haslam’s administration. The new legislation enacted stiffer penalties for manufacturing meth in the presence of children and for purchasing pseudoephedrine for unlawful purposes,” Department of Safety and Homeland Security Commissioner Bill Gibbons said. Gibbons chairs the subcabinet. “The television ads were very effective and emotionally described the heartbreaking toll that meth manufacturing and use can take on a family.”

The three year campaign included outdoor advertising, social media, radio and television commercials, and other forms of non-traditional media. It targeted counties in Tennessee with high rates of children removed from homes due to meth-related cases and counties with the highest number of meth lab seizures. The number of children removed from homes in Tennessee decreased 30.1 percent from 2013 to 2014; the number of meth labs seized in Tennessee fell by 24.7 percent in that same time period.

The Bingham Group, an advertising agency based in Knoxville, produced the two television spots, “Methamphetamine Explosion” and “Meth Mom.”  The campaign earned two silver and one bronze Telly Awards.

The Telly Award is a highly respected honor in the advertising and marketing industry. This year, more than 12,000 entries from all 50 state and numerous countries were submitted. Fewer than ten percent of entries received Silver Telly Awards, which is the highest honor possible, and fewer than 25 percent earned Bronze Telly Awards, the second highest award.

The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security’s (www.TN.Gov/safety) mission is to serve, secure, and protect the people of Tennessee.

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