It has tried scaring them, ridiculing them, grossing them out and even making them laugh, but now the Arizona Department of Health Services hopes it can convince smokers to quit by walking a mile in their ashdusted shoes via Nick's testimony.
Arizona ads follow ‘smokers’ on path to quitting - East Valley Tribune
December 21, 2006
By J. Craig Anderson, Tribune
It has tried scaring them, ridiculing them, grossing them out and even making them laugh, but now the Arizona Department of Health Services hopes it can convince smokers to quit by walking a mile in their ashdusted shoes.
The department’s Tobacco Education and Prevention Program will launch a new advertising campaign next week aimed at adult smokers who may be contemplating quitting because of a recent 82 cents-a-pack state cigarette tax increase and the impending ban on smoking in Arizona bars.
But don’t expect any grossout jokes or catchphrases. The ads will take a far more sympathetic approach, focusing on a fictional smoker as he struggles to kick the habit.
“It’s going to be a series of ads where you follow the story throughout the year,” said Mary Ehlert, the prevention program’s marketing director.
Two versions of each ad will be produced: one in English with a main character called Nick, and the other in Spanish with a protagonist named Hector. They are being shot in a documentary style inspired by reality TV shows.
Six ads will be spread throughout the year, each chronicling another step in what Ehlert said is a well-researched series of events experienced by many smokers who try to stop.
The ads include what the department calls “pre-contemplation” of quitting, followed by contemplation, setting a quit date, quitting, suffering a relapse and making a second, successful effort.
Each character will express his thoughts, fears, concerns and ultimately his resolve to become tobacco-free with help from the publicly funded Arizona Smokers’ Helpline and Partner Cessation Services.
The Health Services Department offers free classes, support groups, educational tools, discounts on nicotine replacement products and more, Ehlert said.
The $3.8 million ad campaign, funded with cigarette tax money, is designed to educate viewers about those services and encourage them to take advantage.
R&R Partners, the advertising agency working with state health officials on the campaign, has set a goal of increasing participation in the programs 6 percent by 2009.
The campaign primarily targets smokers ages 25 to 55, with a secondary aim of reaching 18- to 24-yearolds, although they are typically less likely to use such services.
Since the department made national news a decade ago with its “Tumor-causing, teeth-staining, smelly, puking habit” advertisements, it has created several campaigns directed at different audiences, Ehlert said.
The “habit” campaign was directed at nonsmoking teens, while another recent series of ads focused on the dangers of second-hand smoke. A campaign aimed at people who chew tobacco is scheduled to premier in 2007.
Health officials even ran a series of ads in 1997 that inspired the Nick and Hector spots, with characters Chuck and Carlos, but Ehlert said the actors spoke to the camera against an empty background and appeared too staged for today’s audience.
“This campaign is more relaxed, keeping it real,” she said.
Ben Gordon, managing partner at Las Vegas-based R&R Partner’s Phoenix office, said the creative team relied heavily on medical research, surveys and focus groups to develop the most effective and honest ads possible.
Their primary concern was sensitivity to the plight of smokers, who may be feeling like pariahs lately because of the intensity and prevalence of anti-smoking rhetoric.
Such messages don’t help those who may want to quit but are having difficulty, Gordon said.
“We’re not trying to pick on smokers,” he said. “We’re trying to sympathize with them, connect with them.”
Arizona Smokers’ Helpline
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