OVERVIEW: The objective was to reduce smoking among Ontario's 12 to 15-year-olds, with advertising starting in November 04. This campaign won a Gold for Off to a Good Start in Cassies 2005, and we are delighted that the success has continued over the succeeding months.

SITUATION ANALYSIS: Kids have seen the cancerous lung tissue. They've heard from victims. They know that smoking is bad for them. But they do it anyway. Why? They want to fit in. They think it’s cool. They think it relieves stress. And they think it makes them skinny. These are pretty serious beliefs for a campaign to confront.

STRATEGY AND INSIGHT: To the target, parents are lame, teachers are pathetic-and government? Forget it. Peers are the ones to please. So the campaign needed a single, blunt message that kids would relate to. 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.

EXECUTION: Given the way kids consume media, the campaign had to be fully integrated. It included a five-city concert tour (hosted by MuchMusic), seven TV spots, a cinema spot, magazine ads, and a web ad. All the advertising promoted Stupid.ca, which eventually got 1.2 million unique visitors. There was no preachy talk-just a tone that was honest and funny. TV and cinema ran at good weights through April 05, and lighter weights in the Fall.

RESULTS: There was high (91%) acknowledgement among kids that the ads would help prevent their peers from smoking. Even more encouraging, a Statistics Canada study showed declining rates of smoking (-2%) amongst 12 – 17 year-olds, and a 9% increase in the number of young people who never started all. Separately, Marketing Magazine reported that the TV ads were ranked the most liked in Canada in March 05. The campaign was also a finalist at Cannes and the One Show.

CAUSE & EFFECT: Public health officials correctly point out that decades of anti-tobacco effort-rather than any single initiative-are the cause of declining rates of smoking. However, specific to this case, there haven’t been any significant changes in youth tobacco policy over the duration. The extremely high levels of breakthrough, the flood of traffic to the website, and the reported shifts in attitude, all suggest that the Stupid campaign has been a key reason for the results.

MINISTRY OF HEALTH PROMOTION
KEVIN FINNERTY, Executive Director
of Communications, MoHLTC
MICHELLE GARRETT, Manager,
Public Education, MoHLTC
RICHARD MUTTON, Manager, Public Education, MHP
WENDY SEED, Director, CIB, MoHLTC
WENDY NOVACHKO,
Tobacco Communications Advisor, MHP

BENSIMON BYRNE
JACK BENSIMON, President
DAVID ROSENBERG, Senior VP, Creative Director
CHRIS MUNNIK, Writer
MARK SPALDING, Art Director
JAMES HAWORTH, Director
CAMERON WYKES, Managing Partner,
Creative Strategist, Mighty
J.J. SULLIVAN, Senior Programmer, Mighty
ANTHONY DEL RIZZO, Art Director, Mighty
STEPHEN HEADLY, Developer, Mighty
TRISH KAVANAGH, Copywriter, Mighty
MAGGIE SCREATON, Copywriter, Mighty
MARK AUCOIN, Programmer, Mighty
LEO ZAHAROTOS, Editor, Blue Highway
JOHNNY CHAMBERS, Producer
NELL FRAIR, Executive Producer,
Directors Film Company
MADELINE ATKINS, Executive Producer,
Directors Film Company
PETER HICKEY, Group Account Director
MIRA SCHERER, Account Supervisor
RENEE MACCARTHY, Account Supervisor
MAX VALIQUETTE, President, Youthography
MIKE FARRELL, Partner, Youthography
TRISH VAN VEEN, Project Manager, Youthography
GEOFF DONAVAN, Illustrator
DARRIN DONAVAN, Illustrator