Ciao was meant to be the first ‘legal high’ to be released after the Government’s blanket ban. It attracted many psychonauts who were keen to experiment with a ‘super slick, naturally sourced research chemical,’ designed to ‘open your mind’ psychoactively. This ‘little packet of goodness’ caused quite a stir this summer with over 100 orders placed.

Marketed as a safe chemical that would, ‘hit home fast, opening your mind and giving clarity in a way no other research chemical has done,’ this claim hit the headlines in Metro newspaper reporting on ‘dealers [who] are planning to flood Glastonbury with synthetic drugs not covered by [the] new legislation.’ This latest ‘legal high’ became a sensational tabloid headline with the number of orders increased by 300%.

The Sun reported the Ciao distributor as a ‘shameless dealer’ who found a way to ‘peddle killer legal highs’ through aloop hole in the law. This attracted many people who were unable to purchase ‘legal highs’ after the Psychoactive Substance Act came into force and made it a criminal offence to sell, supply and distribute these harmful drugs. The recently passed act led to the closure of UK headshops and online retailers who had fiercely marketed ‘legal’ chemicals using ‘buy one, get one free’ tactics,loyalty cards, special offers and free samples.

Who exactly were the “shameless” drug dealers behind Ciao? No one imagined it to be the drug awareness charity Angelus who had spun the media with their ‘confidant’, Lime Advertising agency. The media and ‘customers’ were blissfully unaware that this was a harm-reduction campaign intended to emulate the aggressive marketing techniques of head shops.

Advertising a free sample online was a planned strategy to connect with a remote audience who often detach themselves from harm-prevention campaigns. By doing so, Angelus attempted to reduce the risk of further health harms. We wanted to maintain high ethical standards so the legality of this campaign was checked beforehand, all data retrieved during the campaign was collected and disposed of in accordance with data protection laws.

Lime Advertising added their twist to the Angelus campaign after winning the PIP Advertising Award for Young Creative Talents at last year’s IPA Best Health Show. They took a highly innovative approach to capture the attention of Angelus who previously struggled to connect with those most at harm. Target marketing on Facebook encouraged people to order their free sample from the Ciao website.Some saw this approach as sour, others sweet.

After the ‘big reveal’ some people expressed their relief on Facebook: “Well at least this explains why Facebook mugged off my report against you lot for peddling 'legal highs’, fair play.” Not all were pleased with this harm-reduction approach as they felt that they had been duped into thinking they could get ‘free drugs.’

Angelus managed to challenge the common misconception that these drugs were ‘less harmful than illicit substances’ by posting Ciao packets to customers who could read information on the health harms of consuming these psychoactive substances.

We confided with journalist for Vice, Max Daly, that “traditional ways of warning young people about the dangers of substances, particularly legal highs, were not having the best impact.” He criticised the media’s role in this campaign, as he claimed that they failed to discourage drug-taking through sensational headlines on super strong drugs that could perversely motivate some people to experiment. Daly reported on the need for drugs education instead of scaremongering around drug use and misinformation that often circulates in the public domain.

Angelus believes that the dominance of social media is a powerful communication tool in changing the way young people think,as harm-reduction information dumped on a website does not captivate this audience. There is a lot of misinformation on ‘legal highs’ so Angelus encourages other organisations to cut through traditional messaging and take a creative approach. Bland information won’t change behaviour.