​It all began with the declaration of war by Richard Nixon in 1971, a war on drugs. His declaration became a political focus for the following 20 years, as it was an incredibly easy way to get votes - who wants everyone to be addicted to drugs? Following this declaration, the United States was subsequently swarmed by advertisements and programs to combat this. The problem with these ads and the programs that the ads were for was that that they didn’t actually educate the viewer, or in many cases succeed in stopping drug use. As opposed to informing, many campaigns taught a simple and easily ignored message, “All drugs are bad”. These were many times ignored by youth, as they included marijuana as a drug, alongside heroin and methamphetamine. The advertisements meant to shape health and a lifestyle for children, but advertising a way of life is much different than a soda. This and many other reasons were why DARE and alike advertisements and programs failed in the wake of the “War on Drugs”.