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The Weekly Geek: Some kind of influence

I have to admit that I have a soft spot in my heart for geek-centric advertisements. Show me a cool nerdy T-shirt or try to hawk your products with some sort of obscure dork reference, and you’ll have my attention.

So it’s with great pleasure that I present to you one of the most hilariously out-of-touch anti-drug ads I have ever seen in my life. Ladies, if you’re a fan of Matrix-style green, unintentional comedy and the straightedge lifestyle, this one’s for you, because AboveTheInfluence.com wants you to know that getting high will destroy your skills as a gamer.

Even better, folks who stumble upon this lovely piece of meme-worthy PSA can click on two unfortunate avatars that were “injured” because the player controlling them was under the influence. If you click on the female character, you’re presented with the very touching, “In the last fight, Lyle decided to get high, then it was sayonara skill, sayonara swiftness.” She also has a full leg cast. Ouch.

I know the organization is trying to appeal to young people (mostly teens and young men), and it’s obviously a worthwhile message, but lordy, have they ever reached the bottom of the barrel with trying to be all “with it” and hip. Whatever happened to “Just Say No”?

Aside from being ridiculous, it’s rather untrue. Those who (legally!) become intoxicated and play games often report that they get better at Rock Band and Guitar Hero, perhaps because the “I look like an idiot” factor has been reduced along with other inhibitions. Of course, my own research is entirely unscientific, and may or may not be severely influenced by a lifetime of singing Pat Benatar songs, causing those chords and riffs to be burned deeply into brightly colored patterns on my brain.

In other, less embarrassing geek news, UpcomingFilmScores has announced that the robot-loving Electronica duo Daft Punk will be writing music for the 2010 Tron sequel (the original is truly one of the best nerd movies of the 80s). If that’s not enough to get your Daft Bodies moving with excitement, then this video should help.

So what do you think, readers? Was the creative department at Above the Influence smoking something funny when they put this one together?

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