NEW YORK, February 8th - Grammy Award-winning superstar Mary J. Blige is telling kids drugs are "a false thing" in a new television ad breaking nationally from the Partnership for a Drug-Free America (PDFA).

The new ad - set to the music of "Deep Inside," the collaboration with Elton John that appears on Blige's current MCA album, Mary - features Blige talking directly to kids about the false sense of comfort drugs brought her.

"Drugs used to make me feel no pain at all," she says. "It's a false thing. Once the feeling is gone, you're back to feeling like you're nobody." She goes on to say she ultimately "accepted who I was...I accepted Mary."

"She just opened up like a flower," said Bobby Sheehan, director of the 30-second public service announcement. "She comes across as very genuine, and without that, nothing else would matter. If she were someone just going through the motions of saying, 'don't do drugs,' no one would identify with her or her message."

The "Mary J. Blige" spot is part of the PDFA's ongoing collaboration with Musicians' Assistance Program (MAP), a California-based organization devoted to helping music industry professionals recover from drug and alcohol problems. The campaign has also included PSAs from the Dixie Chicks, Lauryn Hill, Everclear, Troy Nowell (the widow of the lead singer of Sublime), Chuck D, Meredith Brooks, the late Scatman John, Lorrie Morgan, KISS, and Chuck Negron (former lead singer of Three Dog Night).

Other role models in the campaign include tennis players Venus and Serena Williams and champion skateboarder Andy Macdonald. Research shows this ongoing role models campaign is having an impact, and it has been honored with the PRISM Award, an honor bestowed to those in the entertainment industry by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

"Musicians are uniquely credible role models for kids," says MAP's Carole Fields. "They have the ability to share the great satisfaction and creativity that can flourish from a drug-free lifestyle."

"To a teen, the messenger can be as important as the message," said Ginna Marston, executive vice president and director of Program Development for the Partnership. "When a role model like Mary J. Blige steps up and speaks openly and honestly about how drugs are not the answer, that carries a lot of weight with the kids we're trying to reach."

"Mary J. Blige" was directed by Bobby Sheehan, Ace Productions in Los Angeles, and edited by Alex Albanese and Steve Silkenson at Grenade in New York.

The ad will be running in paid media exposure as part of the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign. This federally funded anti-drug campaign is being coordinated by The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, headed by Barry McCaffrey, in conjunction with the Partnership for a Drug-Free America. The $185-million effort has the bipartisan support of Congress.