'Meth. I'm on it.': Social media erupts over South Dakota anti-drug campaign

“This is our problem, and together, we need to get on it,” Noem said in a video announcing the campaign rollout. “It is filling our jails and prisons, clogging our court systems, and stretching our drug treatment capacity while destroying people and their families.”

The nearly half-million-dollar fee went to Minneapolis-based ad agency Broadhead Co. Referring to the head-turning campaign as “inclusive and empowering,” South Dakota Social Services Secretary Laurie Gill praised the effort as an “aggressive approach.”

“It’s evident there’s a need for an aggressive approach to reduce use of the devastating drug,” Gill said. “This is a movement to educate South Dakotans on the signs of addiction, the treatment resources that are available, and how to implement prevention techniques in their homes and among their communities.”

Not all internet users shared Gill and Noem’s confidence. “Is South Dakota trying to advertise meth?” asked Human Events editor Ian Miles Cheong.

“Also, JUST TO BE CLEAR, it’s not a joke,” said New York Times correspondent Mike Baker with a video of Noem’s announcement.

Others speculated about how the ad could have been produced. “Intern: ‘here’s that ad campaign you wanted.’ Noem: ‘the one that says we’re on top of the meth problem?’ Intern: ‘ah’.”

“The only way to explain South Dakota’s new anti-Meth ads is that everyone involved in their creation is on meth,” Robby Starbuck said.