HONG KONG, June 29 -- It was meant to warn young people about the dangers of narcotics. Instead, many viewers joked that it had become an advertisement for them.

Hong Kong's Correctional Services Department has withdrawn an AI-generated anti-drug campaign after social media users mocked its virtual pop stars for making illegal drugs appear enticing rather than frightening, according to Hong Kong Free Press.

The video, titled Obsession: The Sugar-Coated Trap, featured four animated band members named Weedy, Icy, Coke and Little E - references to cannabis, crystal methamphetamine, cocaine and etomidate, the anaesthetic increasingly known on Hong Kong streets as "space oil."

Each character introduced themselves with catchy slogans that we...