August 19, 2015
Philadelphia Police Department/Facebook
"Hip" Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey made a cameo in the department's "Saved by the Bell" anti-drug PSA.
The Philadelphia Police Department published a PSA about the dangers of using drugs to their Youtube page last week, channelling a famous early 1990s TV show.
It didn't go so well, but the department says that the video shouldn't be taken seriously as they were simply trying to get more of the public to their website where they give out valuable information.
If anything, the video shows how archaic attempts to change people's views on drugs that are "tragically outdated" are not effective, according to police.
The video uses an old clip of the characters from "Saved by the Bell" telling the kids of the country not to use dope. At the end of the short clip, Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey's face appears over former NBC executive Brandon Tartikoff's head.
Ramsey's voice is dubbed over to introduce himself, and then Tartikoff and the of the cast take it from there, shouting together, "There's no hope with dope!" Watch it here:
With more than 80,000 views and coverage from national outlets like Gawker, it's safe to say that the video has gone viral.
However, the reviews were not great, with about a 50/50 like-to-dislike ratio on Youtube, which is very low for videos on the website.
Some did praise the department for its quirky sense of humor.
Wow, the @PhillyPolice continues to own social media. Check out their latest PSA. https://t.co/OW0Waww9f6
— Adam Bonin (@adambonin) August 5, 2015
Best PSA ever? http://t.co/QHNC2FoHVJ #savedbythebell
— Lyranda (@Lyranda) August 19, 2015
Yet many others panned the awkwardness and even potential copyright infringement of the PSA:
Philly: Home to killing robots and recycling old Saved by the Bell PSAs by badly replacing Brandon Tartikoff's head: http://t.co/bvPQIqvDqI
— Steve Climaco (@jjammerzs) August 17, 2015
Philadelphia Police Department -- Worst PSA Ever!!! http://t.co/ofprQw83ZJ
— TMZ (@TMZ) August 18, 2015
Some also criticized the department supposedly professing an outdated video on the use of marijuana. However, neither the video nor the department's promotion of it addresses marijuana specifically.
The department's Digital and social media manager, Sgt. Eric Gripp, who created the video, says it wasn't actually targeted at curbing the use of marijuana, or any drug. In fact, it was in part poking fun at the idea that a short PSA could seriously change someone's views.
"It's not specifically aimed at anything," Gripp told PhillyVoice. "We weren't trying to make any political statement or pass it off as an actual drug PSA."
He said the video is meant to draw more residents to their social media pages and websites, adding that no matter how important the information they provide to the public is, many will not look for it.
Gripp also noted that trying to make a serious point through an outdated PSA like the original "Saved by the Bell" ad is "totally contrived and won't change anyone's outlook on drugs," and that they were in no way trying to make light of the "say no to drugs" campaign.
The original PSA was a part of the 1991 episode "No Hope with Dope," in which the character Jesse gets hooked on caffeine pills.
"It was the first time that 10-year-old me thought 'Saved by the Bell' isn't cool," Gripp said, adding that the PSA's style is "tragically outdated."
The department took the backlash in stride, joking about Commissioner Ramsey's "hipness" on Facebook and adding that they're hiring.
One position that may be open in the near future: video editor.
