AdNausea

Everyone has seen advertisements urging parents to talk to their kids about drug and alcohol use. These sometimes include scary images of accident scenes, crying mothers and teddy bears left out in the rain. I’m not suggesting that these don’t work, but I am suggesting that this isn’t the most original take on talking to your kids and getting them to understand how you feel. But stumbling around online today, I came across an article (original here) that kind of floored me. There’s a video at that link as well.

Los Angeles agency Ground Zero teamed up with The Sound Advice Project to get parents to talk to their kids about drugs - with the help of some interactive creativity and a bracelet. To begin with, parents are encouraged to go to the non-profit’s website and choose from a variety of personal messages to record in their own voice for their child. The audio is visualized as a sound wave and that image is converted into a 3 dimensional bracelet that parents can customize as far as choosing the color of the beads and cord. The bracelet costs about $18 and can be purchased directly from that site.

The thing I like about this idea is that a caring “I believe in you” or “You make me so proud” can stick with the child no matter where they go. The bracelets look inconspicuous enough that no one ever really has to explain what it is if they don’t want to, but they’re stylized enough that your teenager will want to wear them.

I’m surprised this type of technology hasn’t been used yet for keepsakes or some other form of merchandise. Maybe it has and I’m just behind the times. People are always looking for a new way to tell someone they love them. Remember those rice necklaces? A small tube of water with a tiny, single grain (or two) of rice with someone’s name or some kind of special message written on it? Miniature roses insdie tiny vials? You could purchase a small token of your affection to give to your boyfriend or daughter or whatever. Those are neat and all, but what sets The Sound Advice Project apart from a company like RiceBling is that Sound Advice has a powerful meaning behind it. Oh, and it was advertised for.

So what do you guys think? Do you wish your parents had something like this to give you? Is it a passing trend, just like the Live Strong bracelets or is this something that will help young adults know that someone is watching out for them? What do you think?