Go to any mall and you will see that kids and teens still smoke. But how effective have anti-tobacco campaigns been since the landmark $206 billion tobacco settlement went into
effect in 1998? In 1999, 15.9% of youth between the ages of 12 to 17 smoked, slightly down from the 18.2% usage rate in 1998.
Those on the frontlines developing anti-tobacco campaigns say that progress is slow because of the huge marketing impact Big Tobacco has had on shaping "cool" perceptions of
smoking among youth.
And even though states have more money than ever to both limit the advertising reach of tobacco companies and develop more aggressive anti-tobacco campaigns, these efforts are
still considered a "David" to the tobacco companies' "Goliath" marketing presence.
When tobacco companies were recently forced to take down their billboard messages, companies like Brown & Williamson increased their spending in teen magazines by 75%,
according to a study done by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
Tobacco executives also increased promotions in convenience stores by 65% after being forced to take down billboards, according to a University of Illinois at Chicago study.
So what anti-tobacco messages will work?
Peer-to-peer efforts are expected to make a difference. Florida's Truth campaign, which launched in 1998, recruited adolescents and teens to develop and execute anti-tobacco
campaigns. The efforts helped cut smoking rates in the state by almost 40% among junior high students and 19% among high school students in two years. It has also convinced other
states to follow its lead.
Targeting Teens with Teens
In Minnesota, a youth-led grassroots organization called Target Market requires adults to ride shotgun as adolescents and teens take over the driver's seat in planning and
promoting tobacco prevention campaigns. And in Texas, 100 kids brainstormed an animated duck concept for tobacco prevention messages that target grammar school students.
Respecting the thoughts and opinions of young people is proving more effective than previous tobacco prevention scare tactics, says Jim Audette, Target Market's executive
director. Campaigns showing images of black lungs and underscoring the lethal effects of smoking don't appeal to kids, who see themselves as invincible.
Traditional anti-tobacco campaigns also were considered too preachy, whereas peer-to-peer campaigns are viewed as sharing information.
Don't Preach
Target Market is using this information-sharing approach in its most recent statewide TV and radio ad campaign that launched last month. Recommended by about 50 teen
volunteers, the ads expose previously confidential documents written by tobacco company executives that detail the industry's intent to target teens.
In one ad, Target Market member Mohamed Bashir, a 17-year-old African American, quotes a former tobacco company employee who said that while he didn't smoke, he "reserved that
right for the poor, the black and the stupid."
After reading the quote, Bashir chuckles and concludes, "talk about getting busted by your own words."
Ducks Down
To get approval for the ads, ad agency Campbell Mithun had to make sure they passed muster with Target Market's teen advisory board.
This approval process sometimes resulted in rejection. For instance a radio ad that was deemed too scripted was scrapped for a man-on-the-street, spontaneous marketing
approach.
And when the agency suggested using an animated character as an anti-tobacco mascot, it got ditched for being too childish.
Ducks Up
But an animated duck got a thumbs up among teens in Texas who chose it over 2,000 other advertising concepts developed by Tuerff-Davis EnviroMedia. The $2 million campaign,
launched last month, is the first public education effort using the state's tobacco settlement funds.
In addition to selecting the duck concept, teen volunteers also played a role in selecting the duck's voice (comedian Tony Rock, brother of actor-comedian Chris Rock), the
duck's facial expressions as well as the duck's tobacco prevention messages.
Working with youth on cranking out an anti-tobacco campaign requires patience, flexibility and an open mind. "Kids are aware that the tobacco industry has targeted them and
that cigarettes are illegal and dangerous, but preaching [these messages] won't work."
"In many ways these kids are the hardest clients our marketing vendors have ever had to work with," says Audette.
But the opportunity to develop relevant messages that resonate with young people on their level is worth giving up creative control to them.
(Target Market, Jim Audette, 651/645-3131; EnviroMedia, Rob Teir, 512/476-4368)