Anti-smoking organizations have successfully revamped their marketing techniques to reach America’s youth through a revolutionary campaign designed to promote better decisions and shame bad influences.
MTV began airing commercials that featured scrolling photos of celebrity cigarette smokers in late August. Chris Brown, Robert Pattinson and Lady GaGa were among the familiar faces in the ad, along with the message “Unpaid Tabaco Spokesperson” in big bold letters across their photo.
The photos are a stark contrast to the usual photoshopped perfection of the celebs the public is used to seeing; these act as a reminder of the disgusting realities of smoking. This ad is a part of the latest national anti-smoking movement called “Finish It.”
The campaign is being spearheaded by the anti-smoking American Legacy Foundation. The group funds its projects through the settlement of $206 billion between the tobacco companies and 46 states in the U.S. back in 1998, according the The Des Moines Register.
The foundation's advocacy runs under the umbrella of the "Truth" campaign. One of their first ads shocked audiences with the depiction of 1,200 body bags to represent the amount of lives lost to smoking every day.
"The 'Truth Campaign' took the approach that the tobacco companies are manipulating you, the tobacco companies are using you," Iowa Attorney General and Legacy board member Tom Miller told The Des Moines Register.
The American Legacy Foundation is now veering away from their informative style of campaigning, instead focusing on the self-promoting attitude that the coming generation can “finish” teenage smoking through a collective effort.
The foundation has been credited with preventing thousands of potential smokers and helping others quit, but the health risk message ran dry for many audiences. The organization made the best move to now put the movement back in the hands of teens.
The coming generation has been considered one that is obsessed with change. By encouraging the “Finish It” campaign, the younger generation is able to make a difference because it has the proper tools and national influence.
“All the best marketing research today shows that today’s young people are take-charge and want to be involved with the confidence that they can make a difference,” Matthew L. Myers, president of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, told The New York Times.
Shaming celebrities for their poor behavior has also been a great step forward in the marketing technique for the campaign. While many disagree that celebrity behavior has any effect on the public, the message that is tacked on to the behavior of a big name in Hollywood really can be influential because celebrities help define our social norms.
As a society, we are becoming more confident in calling out the unfavorable actions of celebrities. In turn, this behavior is going to be translated to confidence in calling out our friends, family or anyone else we think needs to “finish it”.
According to the American Legacy Foundation, only 9 percent of teenagers smoke cigarettes.
“We can get it to zero percent. We’re already so close,” they advertise on their website. “If we all join forces — smokers and non-smokers — we can end smoking once and for all.”
Reach the columnist at rsmouse@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @BeccaSmouse
Editor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.
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