This campaign was aired in Ontario in 2004/2005.
WATCH
Overview: Kids know they shouldn’t smoke, but they do anyway. So the objective—to reduce smoking among 12 to 15-year-olds—was ambitious. This case is about the first six months of a long-run effort, and concentrates on shifting attitudes. Advertising started November 04.
Situation Analysis: Kids have been bombarded by images of blackened lungs, rotting teeth and clogged arteries—and they’ve heard from victims. Even so, almost half have experimented with tobacco by grade 9. It’s easy to figure out why. They want to fit in. They think it’s cool. They think it relieves stress. And they think it makes them skinny. Was there a way to stop kids caving in to this pressure?
Strategy and Insight: 5 to 10-year-olds are some of the biggest anti-smokers around. And many older kids are already hooked. So who’s in between? Kids entering the minefield of middle or high school. They became the target. But to these kids parents are lame, teachers are pathetic, and government officials? Forget it. Peers are the ones to please. So the campaign needed a single, blunt message that kids had not seen before.
Execution: The team, helped by a panel of advisory kids, came up with the defining thought: Smoking is just about the stupidest thing you can do. The campaign then had three elements:
Entertainment. Despite the seriousness of the topic, the campaign had to be funny, so this ran through the seven TV spots, a cinema spot, wild postings, magazine ads and a web ad.
Situations Kids Could Understand. Kids don’t care if you have lung cancer when you’re old enough to be a grandparent. But they know it’s truly stupid to hold a metal pole in a lightning storm, or make toast in the bath.
The stupid.ca Web Site. This was a place for kids to share stories, ask questions, and get answers.
Results:
91% of 12 to 15-year-olds said that the ads were effective at
preventing smoking among young people. The website had more than
500,000 visits between November 26, 04 and May 24, 05. And, according
to Marketing Magazine, the TV ads were the 3rd most noticed in Canada
in February and March 05, and the most liked in March 05. [Note: The
longer-term goal is to see these early and positive attitudinal shifts
translate to behaviour.]
Cause and Effect: The case acknowledges that it’s hard to disentangle results of this campaign from other anti-tobacco effort. But given the figures above, it’s clear that the campaign is having a profound early effect.
ONTARIO MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND LONG-TERM CARE
KEVIN FINNERTY, Executive Director, Communications
WENDY NOVACHKO, Sr. Communications Advisor
MICHELLE GARRETT, Manager, Public Education
BENSIMON BYRNE
JACK BENSIMON, President
DAVID ROSENBERG, Senior VP, Creative Director
CHRIS MUNNIK, Writer
MARK SPALDING, Art Director
CAMERON WYKES, Managing Partner, Creative Strategist, Mighty
J.J. SULLIVAN, Senior Programmer, Mighty
ANTHONY DEL RIZZO, Art Director, Mighty
STEPHEN HEADLY, Developer, Mighty
MAX VALIQUETTE, President, Youthography
MIKE FARELLE, Partner, Youthography
JEFF ROACH, Managing Director, Youthography
TRISH VAN VEEN, Project Manager, Youthography
PETER HICKEY, Account Director
MIRA SCHERER, Account Supervisor
RENEE MACCARTHY, Account Supervisor
GEOFF DONAVAN, Illustrator
DARRIN DONAVAN, Illustrator
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