Campaign Urging Oslo Residents to Check Their Drugs

Client: Oslo Drug Check

Work: Concept, copywriting, design, print materials, media buying, campaign management

We developed the concept, copy, and design; purchased ad space; and managed the “Check Your Substance!” campaign for Oslo Drug Check.

A sensitive topic like drug overdoses calls for a message that cannot be misunderstood. We boiled it down to three words and displayed them alone on 297 screens throughout Oslo’s public transit system.

The assignment:

In 2025, there were 283 drug-related deaths in Norway. Many of these could have been prevented if those who died had known what their drugs actually contained. Illegal drugs may be laced with stronger synthetic substances such as fentanyl and nitazener, which greatly increase the risk of overdose.

The Association for Humane Drug Policy (FHR) and proLAR Nett have therefore joined forces to launch Oslo Drug Check. It is a free, anonymous, and non-judgmental service where anyone can have a substance tested to find out what it contains before using it. The service can save lives—but only if people know about it and use it. Oslo Drug Check also relies on financial support to continue offering the service.

The campaign was primarily intended to raise awareness of the service and encourage more people to use it. But the goal was also to reach policymakers. Drug testing is a subject of political debate, along with drug policy and harm reduction in general. The goal was for members of the Storting and their staff to see the campaign as well. It was intended to raise the profile of Oslo Drug Check and the harm reduction work carried out by FHR and proLAR Nett, and to lend weight to their calls for decriminalization and legal regulation.

A message that cannot be misunderstood

A message this sensitive and controversial could neither play on emotions nor be open to interpretation. The campaign had to strike a balance between not normalizing or downplaying the risks of drug use, while at the same time not pretending that people don’t use them. We therefore let the message speak for itself and stripped it down to the most concrete statement we could make: Check your drugs.

The visual design followed the same logic. It uses no illustrations or images, only the sender’s colors and the text message. We let the straightforward, concrete message alone create an impact and leave no doubt as to what the sender means.

From the subway to the restroom at Lorry

Your ad was displayed on 297 digital screens in Oslo, spread across four train stations and sixteen subway stations. Among them was Stortinget Station, where our goal was to reach members of the Storting and their staff. At a public transit station, people have only a few seconds to take in the message. A concise message is an advantage in that setting.

The campaign also took place off-screen. Flyers were distributed at events during World Overdose Day and among Oslo Drug Check’s target audiences. Key figures at the client’s organization wore buttons during Arendalsuka and on World Overdose Day. Stickers were placed in areas frequented by the target audiences, including the restroom at the Lorry nightclub in Oslo, which is popular among politicians.

The result? More visitors and more analytics

The campaign generated a total of 396,728 screen impressions, with a cost per thousand impressions (CPM) of 126.53 kroner.

Starting in June and throughout the campaign period, both the number of visitors and the number of tests at Oslo Drug Check increased. The number of visitors rose from 54 to about 80, and the number of tests from 88 to 107.

During and after the campaign period, they also saw increased engagement and attention on social media, greater awareness among key target groups, and more media coverage and interest.