Prescription opioids contribute to the deaths of more than 22,000 Americans each year. Yet, when we started this project in early 2017, prescription opioids were not getting any media attention. The National Safety Council recognized how many Americans were at risk of addiction and overdose and launched a campaign to stem the crisis.

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Research revealed that most Americans don't believe that they are at risk of an overdose, despite evidence to the contrary. In order to expose people to their own vulnerability to addiction, the NSC had to make the epidemic more personal.

 

To accomplish this, the NSC eschewed a traditional ad campaign in favor of an immersive brand experience, which it built by combining innovative technology with demographic data about opioid overdose victims, ultimately developing a new media channel that brought the epidemic closer to home.

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The Prescribed to Death campaign solidified the NSC's place as a leader fighting causes of preventable deaths. It jump-started a national conversation about the overlooked role of prescription opioids in our country's opioid epidemic. Most importantly, it equipped Americans with a protective tool, a simple sticker to trigger life-saving conversations with their doctors.