CNB asks youths to pop permissive drug talk

The Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) has launched the second year of its "Uninfluenced" campaign, created with Ogilvy Singapore, introducing an augmented reality (AR)-led experience to help youths recognise and challenge permissive conversations around drug abuse.

The latest chapter of the three-year public education initiative shifts its focus from the influences that shape attitudes towards drugs to the everyday comments, jokes and rationalisations that can make drug abuse appear less harmful or socially acceptable.

To bring the issue to life, the campaign visualises these conversations as colourful floating 3D speech bubbles carrying common permissive statements. The creative appears across inflatables, MRT platform screen doors, wallscape installations and bus shelter advertisements, encouraging youths to scan QR codes and interact with the campaign.

Don't miss: ‘One puff and you’re in space’: HK pulls AI anti-drug ad after backlash 

Doing so launches an AR experience where users can "take down" the speech bubbles while learning how to respond to permissive drug narratives. Participants can also take a quiz to discover their "Uninfluenced Pal" — Gut, Wit, Reason or Empathy — with each character representing a different communication style for navigating conversations about drugs.

The campaign extends across paid media, social media, digital platforms, content partnerships and on-ground activations at Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs). At the campus activations, participants are invited to uncover their "Uninfluenced Pal", take part in gamified experiences and compete in a collaborative "Takedown Battle", where they burst oversized speech bubbles carrying permissive messages before practising how to respond to similar situations in real life.

According to CNB, the campaign is designed to move anti-drug education beyond warning messages by giving youths practical tools to identify risky narratives, question them and respond with confidence. A second phase launching in October will focus on equipping youths with the skills to initiate conversations, call out permissive thinking and encourage their peers to stay uninfluenced.

"The conversations youths encounter can shape how they perceive drugs over time. CNB's Uninfluenced campaign seeks to equip them with the awareness and confidence to think critically about these messages, and to respond constructively when they come across views that may normalise or downplay drug harm," said Kaye Chow, deputy director (Partnership & Outreach), DrugFreeSG Office at CNB.

"Through this year's campaign, we hope to make these conversations easier to navigate and encourage youths to play an active role in looking out for one another," she added.

Meanwhile, Troy Lim, group creative director at Ogilvy Singapore, said the agency wanted to make permissive drug talk, often dismissed as casual remarks or jokes, something young people could clearly recognise and challenge.

"Permissive drug talk is powerful precisely because it doesn't feel dangerous. It hides in jokes and casual rationalisations. Our challenge was to give those narratives a form young people could see, confront and pop," he said.

"Through AR, gamification and our four Pals — Gut, Wit, Empathy and Reason — we gave permissive thinking a shape, and its audience a way to answer back. Staying uninfluenced isn't about being the loudest voice, it's about trusting yours," Lim added.

The "Uninfluenced" campaign first launched in March 2025 as a three-year initiative by CNB and Ogilvy Singapore to address growing drug permissiveness among Singaporean youths. Its debut centred on "The trip: What happened in Larspura", an immersive escape room experience that explored how peer pressure, social influence and cultural narratives can shape attitudes towards drugs.

The activation combined interactive gameplay with facilitated discussions to encourage participants to critically examine pro-drug narratives. Rather than relying on traditional fear-based messaging, the campaign was designed to help youths recognise the influences that can normalise drug use and empower them to make informed decisions before those attitudes take root.

Related articles:  
CNB spotlights the stories drugs leave unfinished  
CNB brings emotional storytelling to life with untold stories of drug abuse victims  
Why did HK's 'Obsession' campaign get lost in translation?