Remember Stoner Sloth? That lovable but dopey scamp who "should have hit the books and not the bong" forgot how to pass the salt, was mocked worldwide and even disowned by Premier Mike Baird?
Yeah, that cost $350,000.
The anti-marijuana campaign, aimed at NSW teens, was released back in December, using a person-sized sloth bumbling through life as a warning to young people against using drugs.
The only problem was, the campaign was so ridiculous and mocked so unanimously online that the message was completely lost.
The Stoner Sloth website -- which is still live and active, by the way -- had a footer note from "NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet" but even premier Baird moved to distance himself from the campaign.
Now, NSW Greens MP Mehreen Faruqi has revealed that the campaign cost $351,000 and took 265 public servant work hours to complete.
Speaking to The Guardian, Faruqi said how she had uncovered the details of the campaign under Government Information (Public Access) laws.
The total cost of the campaign was said to be $351,790. Of that figure:
- $115,000 was spent on research and evaluation, including a review of cannabis education programs and market research
- $136,700 spent on production, including $23,000 on actors
- $99,990 went to media agency Universal McCann
"We are in dire need of an informed and evidence-based drugs debate in this country," Faruqi wrote on Facebook.