South Dakota’s weird PSAs: Before they were “On meth,” they were “Jerking and driving”

You’ve probably heard of South Dakota’s latest campaign to raise awareness of methamphetamine addiction: “Meth. We’re on it.”

If not, you might want to check out these stories:

• Washington Post: “Meth. We’re on it,” South Dakota say in ridiculed ad campaign that cost $449,000
• New York Times: “Meth. We’re on it”: South Dakota’s anti-meth campaign raises eyebrows
• FOX News: ‘Meth. We’re on it’ campaign rolls out in South Dakota to confusion, ridicule
• Bring me the news: Minneapolis ad agency ‘proud’ of South Dakota anti-meth campaign

Here’s the “Meth. We’re on it.” TV ad:

This isn’t South Dakota’s first questionable public service announcement rodeo. A few years back, they had the ill-conceived “Don’t jerk and drive” campaign:

It’s a poor double entendre — the joke meaning is easy to get, but it’s really hard to tell what they really mean by “jerking and driving.” It turns out that it’s the tendency to suddenly the steering wheel when you start to skid on snowy roads.

Here’s their TV ad:

Naturally, this campaign didn’t last very long before it was —ahem — pulled.

• Argus Leader: State to pull ‘Don’t Jerk and Drive’ campaign
• Star Tribune: South Dakota pulls ‘Don’t Jerk and Drive’ safety campaign
• New York: South Dakota Yanks ‘Don’t Jerk and Drive’ Ad Campaign
• TIME: South Dakota Pulls ‘Don’t Jerk and Drive’ Ad Campaign