Canadian Parents Learn How to Have Cannabis Talk with 'Practice Kids' Campaign
Cannabis is legal nationwide in Canada for both recreational and medicinal purposes. With cannabis readily available across the country, usage among teens is on the rise – resulting in one in five teens aged 15-19 using cannabis in the past year alone. But trial should be delayed as 90% of addictions start in the teen years.
Research shows that one of the main reason kids will stay away from drugs is so as not disappoint their parents, so when parents have a conversation about cannabis with their kids, the kids will often put off trying it until later in life, and in some cases, maybe they won’t try it at all. But parents don’t always know what to say and how to say it and so they end up avoiding the conversation, fearing they won’t be credible or that it will damage their relationship. “Considering that this discussion between parents and teens is critical, we worked with FCB to find the right solution to help parents overcome these fears, empowering them to make that conversation happen” said Marc Paris, DFKC executive director.
FCB Canada and Drug Free Kids Canada (DFKC) developed a new campaign designed to help families navigate these tough conversations – equipping parents with the forum to practice the cannabis talk with a group of teens, so they can be prepared for any reaction. “Kids don’t come with an instruction booklet and other than prenatal classes, parents aren’t taught how to parent and have those tough conversations with their teens. But what if we could give them the chance to rehearse – a chance to test the cannabis conversation with other teens, and get tips from these experts on how to navigate it successfully? That’s the whole point of this campaign: to give parents that opportunity,” says Sylvain Dufresne, head of creative at FCB Montreal.
A group of real teens ranging in age from 13 to 17 was recruited and trained to connect with real parents who want to get the cannabis talk right before facing their own kids. A “How To Talk To Teens About Cannabis” session was advertised, like any other seminar, for parents who were struggling with the topic, except they were in for a real surprise: the introduction of a new kind of instructor – teens the same age as their own kids. The stunt was captured and used to create the content to launch practicekids.ca, the online resource hub for parents.
This initiative will be followed up by a series of Facebook Live sessions in order to make these “Practice Kids” available to every Canadian parent. Those sessions will be scheduled on a monthly basis through July 2019, in both French and English. The multifaceted national 360 campaign created by FCB Canada also includes TV, radio, print, OOH, social content and banner components, as well as a series of videos featuring the “Practice Kids” offering tips to fuel the conversation and quizzes to start it off on the right foot.
