This Is Your Brain on Drugs
The 30-second version of the first PSA, from 1987, shows a man (played by John Roselius) in a kitchen who asks if there is anyone out there who still does not understand the dangers of drug abuse.
The PSA critiqued the war on drugs and its contribution to mass incarceration, structural racism and poverty.
[9] A poster produced in the early 1990s called "Famous Brains on Drugs" parodied the concept by having eggs appear in the frying pan in forms intended to remind the viewer of certain people.
[9] In an episode of the sitcom Roseanne, the title character reenacts the PSA while having a conversation with one of her children about drugs.
"[13] An episode of the teen series Beverly Hills, 90210 ends with the characters Brandon and Brenda Walsh acting out the PSA with their friends in their favorite diner.
[11] PBS Kids did a parody of the famous PSA as well, in a short titled "This is your brain on books", in which a gold egg falls on a frying pan with books on it, then falls into a human brain, in which he thinks about composing, computing, and creating, ending it all with "Any questions?".
[14] The second version was satirized in the series premiere of the animated television sketch show Robot Chicken, "Junk in the Trunk" (2005).
Rachael Leigh Cook (who provided the voice acting) goes on a psychopathic rampage, destroying everything she encounters, ending eventually with her smashing herself in the head and falling down a building.
[16] In the sixteenth episode of the ABC sitcom The Goldbergs, "Muscles Mirsky", references the PSA while Beverly is making breakfast.
[17] To promote season 2 of Riverdale on Netflix, Camila Mendes, who plays Veronica Lodge, re-stages the 1997 version PSA, which featured actor Rachael Leigh Cook.
The PSA goes on as normal until Robert Englund (who plays Freddy Krueger) hits Depp with the frying pan and says, "Yeah!
[21] The teaser for the 2019 "No Drug Like Me" music video by Carly Rae Jepsen re-stages the 1997 version PSA, which featured actor Rachael Leigh Cook.
A 2011 CBS Cares PSA parodied this in talking about sunburn, which showed a slice of uncooked bacon that accompanied a voice saying "This is your skin", and a slice of it was then placed in a frying pan, cooking it, stating "This is your skin in the sun", and then follows it by a shot of a sun in which the voice says "Any questions?
[24] The Nostalgia Critic placed the ad at number three on his "Top 11 Drug PSAs" list, noting that everyone he knew had a "witty retort" to the commercial's signature "any questions?"
After demonstrating a few comebacks, he then watches Rachael Leigh Cook's version of the PSA, responding to her manic performance with a shocked "What the hell kind of drugs are you on?
"[25] In 2012, two PSAs based on the PDFA campaign were released by Tea Party activist Herman Cain.
The violent death of a goldfish and a rabbit were supposed to represent what President Obama's stimulus plan did to the American economy.
[11] Comedian Bill Hicks spoke negatively about the commercial frequently during his stand-up routine, claiming "I've seen a lot of weird shit on drugs, I've never ever ever ever ever looked at an egg and thought it was a fucking brain.
