Submission 8,390

Part of a series on Public Service Announcements (PSAs). [View Related Entries]

About

"We're Not Candy" PSA was a Public Service Announcement used in the New York Tri-state area in the 1980's. The PSA gained popularity online from reuploads on sites like YouTube in early 2023, inspiring fan content including edits, animatics and remixes.

Origin

The PSA was first recorded in 1980, and was used a musical segment (shown below) in the 1984 children's show Kids Corner in the episode "Jasper's Hospital Experience". The song was written and composed by Nancy B. Ekberg.

A shorter version was used as a PSA by the Long Island Area Regional Poison Control Center, which was first covered on the 1983 episode of VH1's I Love The '80s Strikes Back (shown below), which first aired on October 21st, 2003.^[1] The PSA involves puppets in the shape of pills singing in a high-pitched voice about how you shouldn't take them unless prescribed by a doctor, and that despite their appearance they are not candy.

A longer version of the PSA (shown below, left), although shorter than the version used in Kids Corner, was posted online as early as March 2006 on sites such as RetroJunk^[2] and Retrostatic.^[3] Reuploads to YouTube^[4] started to appear in July of 2007. The song's lyrics were also used in the 1997 Busta Rhymes song "Dangerous" (shown below, right).^[5]

Spread

Animatics of the video first appeared on YouTube in January 2023. On January 14th, 2023, nuttimeister posted an animatic of the PSA to YouTube^[6] (shown below, left) which received over 202,000 views in over a month. On January 25th, 2023, YouTube^[7] user Stick Gaming posted a video which recreated the PSA using heads from Roblox. The video (shown below, right) received over 65,000 views in over three weeks.

On February 7th, 2023, YouTube^[8] user Death by Proxy posted a video which uses the song in an analog horror theme involving a laboratory and various animals. The video (shown below, left) received over 236,000 views in over one week. On February 12th, 2023, YouTuber^[9] TheRealSullyG posted a video which recreates the PSA using Otamatones. The video (shown below, right) received over 87,000 views in over one week.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References

^[1] IMDb – I Love the '80s Strikes Back – 1983

^[2] RetroJunk – We're Not Candy!

^[3] Archive.org – Retrostatic – We're Not Candy singing pills PSA (1985)

^[4] YouTube – We're not candy Singing Pills, This is serious….

^[5] Wikipedia – Dangerous (Busta Rhymes song) – Music and lyrics

^[6] YouTube – nuttimeister

^[7] YouTube – Stick Gaming

^[8] YouTube – Death by Proxy

^[9] YouTube – TheRealSullyG

Related Entries 5 total

Recent Images 1 total

Puppets Easing Hospital Fears By DEB FARRELL Tribune Staff Writer Jasper the bear is trying to ease children's fears about being hospital- ized for operations. Jasper stars in two videotapes that were produced to make the big, bright hospital seem less formidable The tapes, produced in Bismarck last month by Kids Corner Ltd. for nation- al distribution, explain the realities of hospitals and operations in children's terms. Bismarck native Nancy Ekberg. daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Ekberg, is one of the four women who founded the Colorado Springs, Colo., business. She composes its music. Both tapes are about Jasper, the furry bear, who goes to the hospital to I have his tonsils removed. He ex- presses his fears to his friend, Linda, who explains what is going to happen to him. Super Snooper and her sidekick, Word Bird, explain the big medical words doctors and nurses use, such as medicine and prescription. Snooper, the Sherlock Holmes of the canine world, dresses to fit the occasion and Word Bird, a fluffy bluebird, twitters helpful hints. Also, a blue pill barbershop quartet singing "we're not candy" explains the importance of keeping the pills in the bottle and taking medicine only when recommended by the doctor. The other three women in the busi- ness are Donna Guthrie, the founder and writer; Linda Railey, business manager and actress; and Valerie Morriss, professional puppeteer. The four women have been working on the tapes for 18 months. Filming the large puppets wasn't as easy as some might think. For exam- ple, when Jasper was in a hospital bed, the bed had to be taken apart so Valerie could operate the hand puppet from beneath it. Super Snooper's actions had to be coordinated by Valerie and Donna. The puppet was held high above their heads while they synchronized his movements by watching a monitor at their feet. This method of filming eliminated the traditional painted backdrop and allowed the puppets to be filmed in "real life" situations. The women hired Californian producer Clyde Smith and KFYR-TV cameraman Dan Steteson for the final work in Bismarck. The music had been recorded in Colorado and needed only to be incorporated into the tapes as the puppets were filmed in Bis- marck Hospital's pediatric ward and the fire-gutted former Downtowner Restaurant. Children in Bismarck Hospital and in Penrose Hospital, Colorado Srings, are featured in the videotapes so connection children can make the between the puppets and themselves. Tribune Photo by Tea Quanrud Nancy Ekberg with Word Bird, Donna Guthrie with Jasper, Valerie Morriss with Jennifer, and Linda Railey with Super Snooper. The pilot tapes are being shown twice a day for the children in the Penrose Hospital as a test run The women are producing three more tapes, which should be ready by early next year. They will deal with hospital operations, and include Jen- nifer, a blues singer who sings "I'm sick of being sick." Donna said she also would like to produce tapes on other subjects, such as diabetes, broken bones and dental work. The women's work is financed by a grant through Penrose Community Relations, Colorado Springs. The grant, however, isn't big enough so that the four women can afford to pay themselves. The video equipment they use is supplied by the Community. Relations, saving them more money. "We know there's a market out there for our tapes," Donna said. "Maybe someday we'll get paid."

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"We're Not Candy!" PSA (Singing Pills)

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About

Origin

Spread

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References

^[1] IMDb – I Love the '80s Strikes Back – 1983

^[2] RetroJunk – We're Not Candy!

^[3] Archive.org – Retrostatic – We're Not Candy singing pills PSA (1985)

^[4] YouTube – We're not candy Singing Pills, This is serious….

^[5] Wikipedia – Dangerous (Busta Rhymes song) – Music and lyrics

^[6] YouTube – nuttimeister

^[7] YouTube – Stick Gaming

^[8] YouTube – Death by Proxy

^[9] YouTube – TheRealSullyG

Related Entries 5 total

Recent Videos 16 total

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We're Not Candy (complete ver... "We're Not Candy!" PSA (Singi... Uploaded by Autumn Able	Title Theme (Beta Mix) - Dr. ... "We're Not Candy!" PSA (Singi... Uploaded by Autumn Able	"We're Not Candy!" PSA (Singi... Uploaded by Autumn Able	we're not candy! "We're Not Candy!" PSA (Singi... Uploaded by Autumn Able

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"We're Not Candy!" PSA (Singing Pills)

About

Origin

Spread

Various Examples

Search Interest