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

About

"We're Not Candy" PSA was a Public Service Announcement from the Long Island Regional Poison Control Center that aired in the New York City area in the late 1970's and 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 aired exclusively in the New York City area in the late 1970s to 1980s. It 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 full-length version of the PSA (shown below, left) which adds more lyrics to the song, 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