Crack is wack

Paul Reubens AKA Pee Wee Herman is/was a genius. Straight up. I’ve no interest at all in smoking crack cocaine, but the anti-crack commercial that he made during the PSA-loving “Just Say No”/ D.A.R.E./ “THIS is your brain on drugs” 1980s is pretty absurd, and might have had the opposite effect on many viewers. From the ominous synth and heartbeat sounds to the harsh lighting, this ad was wack!

The interrogation-style set in the spot has a double meaning when you conisder that it was made after Reubens was arrested for doing what anyone who goes into a porn theater does inside one — or did, anyway. They don’t have porn theatres anymore do they? Reubens was forced to write, produce and pay for the thing, in lieu of doing jail time (which might be even more absurd than the commercial itself).

Reubens must have been following some sort of template. A similar “oooohhh scary”-looking set was used for other don’t-smoke-rock-kids PSAs, including this one by Clint Eastwood, where he of course looks super cool. Anyway, remember kids: cocaine is a hell of a drug.

—DJ Yeti