| Can sound waves win the war on drugs? The Sound Advice Project, an anti-drug campaign, lets parents record a six-second message of support for their kids, then mails them a 3D plastic representation of the recording’s unique waveform for their kid to wear as a bracelet. It’s a cool commitment device, but also a cool birthday gift to a friend, or a reminder to yourself to always seek the counterintuitive answer. Proceeds from Sound Advice bracelet sales (using drug-related messages or not) go to drug-use prevention groups. [%comments]
The Sound of Commitment
TAGS: drugs
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It’s a great concept, but I don’t see how this is going to be anything but a short-term gimmick. Nothing replaces a real relationship and discussion with your children, at which point you can give them anything under the sun, and the sentimental value would still hold (because of the relationship, not because of the actual item).
Also, as a market idea, this would make more sense if they expanded it to include any and all messages, to any and all mediums. I could definitely see a fad break out where people would be wearing “soundwaves” in general. For example, I would seriously consider buying jewelry etched with a soundwave of me saying, “I love you” or something similarly personal to my significant other. Imagine soundwave tattoos instead of those lower-back henna designs (a.k.a. “tramp stamps”) we see everywhere.
If I’m a highschool kid, I can see getting into bracelets or other items that are 3D representations of sounds. However, I can NOT see getting into such items if they are 1.) anti-drug messages 2.) from my parents. To wear such a thing would asking to be stuffed into a locker.
This price is too much, especially if they want people from all walks of life to participate in this campaign.
Don’t want to sound cynical, but isn’t it basically a only slightly more groovy alternative to a WWJD? bracelet? I wonder what the sound wave is for “why don’t you come and beat me up?”
more plastic
what about a real relationship instead?
Really? Did someone get a gold star or a pat on the back for coming up with this bracelet idea? Or did the abstinence groups not go for it first?
This idea is laughable. Is there any evidence that these kind of methods work for more than a small handful of kids? The kids who already live in constant fear of their parents.
This sounds like a gimmicky, hyped version of a ‘promise ring’.
Then again, I already am incredibly cynical about anything anti-drug, thanks to the blatant, blatant lies propagated by DARE.
It’s too bad, because the same idea (of physically representing sound in jewelry) could be kind of interesting if they didn’t try to use it to push their own message.