This campaign about secondhand smoke and kids was produced as a Public Service Announcement by Crispin Porter and Bogulsky, the Florida's Agency that worked for the Legacy Foundation and the first Florida's antismoking campaigns until their funding was shot down by the Republican majority. Now that the Constitution has been amended to oblige the legislature to fund antismoking programs maybe they'll come back. WATCH
MORE THAN 13 MILLION AMERICAN CHILDREN REGULARLY BREATHING SECONDHAND SMOKE IN THEIR HOMES, CARS
January 11, 2005
American
Legacy Foundation and the Ad Council Launch First Campaign to Call
Attention to and Educate Public About Dangers of Secondhand Smoke
WASHINGTON,
D.C. - The American Legacy Foundation® is sponsoring a new public
health campaign, launched today in partnership with the Ad Council, to
educate Americans and especially parents about the dangers of
secondhand smoke and motivate them to take steps to create smoke-free
environments for their families. The launch coincides with new
foundation research that demonstrates that 13.8 million American
children are breathing secondhand smoke in their homes -- resulting in
serious public health implications.
The foundation report
titled Secondhand Smoke: Youth Exposure and Adult Attitudes notes that,
in 2003, 13 percent of youth aged 12 to 17 were exposed to secondhand
smoke in their homes, and about 7 percent of youth in this group are
exposed to secondhand smoke in the family car. Secondhand smoke puts
Americans at risk for serious health consequences, including cancer,
respiratory diseases and sudden-infant-death syndrome (SIDS).
The new research also shows that:
-In 82 percent of the cases where a young person lives with a smoker, that smoker is a parent.
-About
5.6 million young people between the ages of 12 and 17 currently live
in a household with at least one parent who smokes. Of these youth, 1.3
million live in a household with two smoking parents.
-Youth
reports indicate that although 70 percent of all US households
completely ban smoking in their homes, among households in which a
smoker lives, only 46 percent have rules against smoking in the home.
"The
foundation recognizes the powerful force of addiction to tobacco. We
encourage all smokers to quit for their own health benefits, and
strongly encourage them to take action to protect their families from
the devastating effects of secondhand smoke," foundation President and
CEO Cheryl Healton, Dr. PH said. "We're optimistic that our partnership
with the Ad Council will effectively use humor to attract the public's
attention and lead them to make positive decisions for their families
that can help safeguard smokers' health and the health of their loved
ones."
Titled Don't Pass Gas, the light hearted campaign on a
serious subject hopes to capture the public's attention. Radio and
television public service advertisements (PSAs) focus on family members
"shooing" away gas, holding their noses, and blaming dad or grandpa for
the offensive behavior, before the audience learns that the "gas" being
referenced is actually secondhand smoke. Secondhand smoke is a mixture
of gases and extremely small solid materials, thus the irreverent play
on words transposing secondhand smoke with "passing gas".
"Research
shows than the majority of parents dramatically underestimate the
harmful effects of secondhand smoke to their children," according to
Peggy Conlon, President & CEO of The Advertising Council. "I am
proud to partner with the American Legacy Foundation on this
groundbreaking, engaging campaign, which has the potential to become
iconic and play a major role in reducing secondhand smoke exposure."
The "Don't Pass Gas" campaign includes television and radio PSAs, in addition to Internet print ads. The public also can visit www.dontpassgas.com
for information on the dangers of secondhand smoke and to find
resources for families. Per the Ad Council model, all of the PSAs are
being distributed to more than 28,000 media outlets nationwide next
week and will run and air in advertising time and space that is donated
by the media.
Callers can also phone the toll-free number
1-888-NO-PASS-GAS to receive a brochure containing information on
secondhand smoke and learn how to safeguard their homes and cars again
secondhand smoke. Callers also have the option to connect to the
American Legacy Foundation's Learn to Quit Line, which provides
counseling to individuals who would like to quit smoking and loved ones
who want to help. [In addition, social support can play a key role in
helping smokers quit successfully. Visit www.join-the-circle.org for more information.]
Secondhand
smoke contains more than 4,000 chemical substances, including several
known human carcinogens. Earlier this year, the foundation released
other data showing that a small reduction in tobacco smoke exposure
would spare thousands of children from devastating health problems,
including fewer low birth-weight babies, fewer cases of asthma and
fewer ear infections.
The best actions parents can take to protect their families from secondhand smoke are:
-Make your home smoke-free
-Keep your car smoke-free
-Stop smoking around children
Brenda
Bell Caffee, a national tobacco control advocate, joined Dr. Healton
and Ms. Conlon to call attention to this national problem. Bell Caffee
created Not in Mama's Kitchen, which launched in African American
communities across California on Mother's Day in 1999. The program is
designed to reduce exposure to secondhand smoke by encouraging families
to prohibit smoking in their homes and cars. Because many African
American households are female headed, the program targeted mothers,
grandmothers, aunts, and sisters. The highly collaborative campaign
partnered with churches, schools and nonprofits to get commitment
pledges signed by women to not allow smoking in their houses or cars on
Mother's Day.
"We must protect our children from this danger,"
Bell Caffee said. "I realize that it can be tough to stop smoking, but
it is easy to make the decision to keep secondhand smoke away from
children and be sure that we, as parents, follow through on the
decision to keep smoke out of our homes and cars." Since its inception,
Not In Mama's Kitchen has been replicated in approximately 50 cities
across the United States.
The Ad Council and the American
Legacy Foundation worked with award-winning Miami, Florida-based agency
Crispin Porter + Bogusky to produce the campaign "at cost". The
full-service agency, in partnership with Arnold Worldwide of Boston,
also works on the American Legacy Foundation's award-winning truth®
youth smoking prevention campaign.
"When we think of the Ad
Council, we think of great copy like 'You can learn a lot from a
dummy,'" said Alex Bogusky, Executive Creative Director at Crispin
Porter + Bogusky. "It's our hope that 'Don't Pass Gas' becomes the line
that makes it easy to remember that we need to be careful about smoking
around others, and also gives non-smokers a fun way to remind smokers
that have forgotten. It's all done in an entertaining way that we hope
will start some conversations and word of mouth about the potential
dangers involved with secondhand smoke."
About The American Legacy Foundation®
The
American Legacy Foundation® is dedicated to building a world where
young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit. Located in Washington,
D.C., the foundation develops programs that address the health effects
of tobacco use through grants, technical assistance and training, youth
activism, strategic partnerships, counter-marketing and grassroots
marketing campaigns, public relations, and outreach to populations
disproportionately affected by the toll of tobacco. The foundation's
national programs include Circle of Friends®, Great Start®, a Priority
Populations Initiative, Streetheory® and truth®. The American Legacy
Foundation was created as a result of the November 1998 Master
Settlement Agreement (MSA) reached between attorneys general from 46
states, five US territories, and the tobacco industry. Visit www.americanlegacy.org.
About Crispin Porter + Bogusky
Crispin
Porter + Bogusky has twice been named "Agency of the Year" by
Creativity Magazine and has been Adweek's "Agency of the Year" for the
Southeast three times. Brandweek has also named the agency's clients
"Guerilla Marketers of the Year" for the last five years. This past
year, in an unprecedented sweep, CP+B won the Grand Prix at Cannes, an
O'Toole award for overall creative excellence from the American
Association of Advertising Agencies, as well as the grand prizes at the
CLIOS, EFFIES, Kelly's, OBIES, APG awards and the One Show. So far this
year, CP+B has won 2 Gold awards at Cannes for Cyber work on Burger
King Subservient Chicken and Virgin Atlantic Airways, Media Plan of the
Year from Mediaweek Magazine for spending under 10 million for Molson,
19 Andy Awards, Best of Show at the OBIES for IKEA, 11 Awards at the
One Show and 6 CLIOS. The agency and its work has been profiled in The
New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Forbes, Time,
Newsweek, Advertising Age, Creativity and Archive.
About The Advertising Council
The
Ad Council is a private, non-profit organization with a rich history of
marshalling volunteer talent from the advertising and media industries
to deliver critical messages to the American public. Having produced
literally thousands of PSA campaigns addressing the most pressing
social issues of the day, the Ad Council has effected, and continues to
effect, tremendous positive change by raising awareness, inspiring
action, and saving lives.
FOR PRESS INQUIRIES, PLEASE CONTACT:
Midy Aponte
American Legacy Foundation
703-741-7500
Julie Cartwright
American Legacy Foundation
202-454-5596
Ellyn Fisher
The Ad Council
212-984-1964
[email protected]
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