The Truth Campaign
Craig Anderson
Scott Bittinger
Shefali Desai
Allison Hearty
Kate Seguin
Background
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The largest public-health crusade in U.S. history is being financed with
$1.5 billion from the 1998 legal settlement between tobacco companies and
all 50 states.
The ad is part of an effort coordinated by the American Legacy Foundation,
a nonprofit group that plans to use television, radio, magazine advertising,
the Internet and grassroots campaigns to discourage smoking.
Central to the group's strategy is the creation of a brand for teenagers
named "Truth." They hope the brand will compete with the cigarette
makers' iconic Marlboro, Camel and Lucky Strike brands.
Objective of the campaign :
 Target teens 12-17
 Reduce youth tobacco use by changing the attitude of teens about
tobacco and the tobacco industry;
 Reduce the availability of and youth access to tobacco products;
 Reduce youth exposure to second-hand smoke; and
 increase youth empowerment through community involvement.
The Truth Campaigns
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Television Commercials
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The Survey
The Replacement Smokers
Coroner
Epidemic
The Smoking Machine
Hair
Fire
Laffin’s Kids
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Print ads
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Cha Ching
Billboard
Ammonia
Teens 12-17
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Generation Y, Echo Boomers
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Generation Y is a confident, selfreliant, optimistic and positive
generation
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To reach Generation Y, Marketers
need to:
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Craft products and pitches that
are more realistic
Make their campaigns more
subtle and more local to regain
trust
Use national TV Campaigns that
are funny, unpretentious, and
often confusing to older
consumers
Marketing Strategies
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This marketing campaign, which used teen input in every phase of its
development, included 33 television commercials, seven billboards, eight
print ads, and four posters.
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The ads depicted real teenagers taking on the tobacco industry at the Teen
Tobacco Summit and statewide Students Working Against Tobacco (SWAT)
functions.
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In order to engage teens, the campaign incorporated a variety of in-yourface styles, using everything from edgy humor to high technology
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Other forms of Marketing:
 youth advocacy groups;
 the enlistment of celebrities and politicians to encourage petitioning of
the entertainment industry to portray smoking more accurately and to
denormalize its use.
Brand Positioning
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The Truth Campaign Brand builds a
positive tobacco free identity by
countering the marketing efforts of the
Tobacco industry.
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They compete with the brands such as Joe
Camel and the Marlboro Man
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They compete with Philip Morris Think:
Don’t Smoke anti smoking efforts
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Consumers attitude to the brand is positive
because 70 percent of smokers want to
quit. Only about 5% actually succeed
every year.
Changing Attitudes
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The Truth campaign turned smoking cigarettes from a form of rebellion to a
form of conformity
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The truth campaign showed teens how they were being coaxed into
smoking and how they were expected to smoke.
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So, instead of turning against parents and smoking, teens turned against
cigarette companies and refused not to smoke
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The desired state for the teens remains the same: independence/rebellion
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However, the truth campaign changed the perceived actual state of teens so
instead of believing they were being "controlled" by parents, health
officials, gov, school, etc... the truth campaign convinced teens that they
were being manipulated/ controlled by cig companies and that that was "the
truth"
Analyzing Consumer Behavior
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Number of teenagers increased during much of the
90s and is expected to rise
 Marketers are directing ads to teenagers, who are
increasingly given the task of buying products for
the family
 Consumers fit the classification s of actualizers or
experiencers
 Acutalizer: successful, active, sophisticated
consumers with many resources and high self
esteem. They place high importance on image
 Experiencer: young,enthusiastic, impulsive
consumers who like to take risk, variety, and
excitement. Because of their age, they have not
formulated life values, behaviors, or political
affiliation.
 Behavior is easier to change when they are
younger
Exposure
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This particular campaign has chosen
the routes of the Internet, television,
and magazines.
Their "shock factor," is a great idea
for avoiding zapping
They are able to avoid overexposure
Orange dot acts as a stimulus
Use of real people in a bold and
honest way represents the surprise
factor
Location may also have an important
role to play because all the ads that
are filmed in NYC are impacting the
"real" crowds watching them being
filmed.
Exposure: Magazine
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Magazine advertising schedules for the leading
tobacco brands produce a high level of "effective
reach" among teens 12-17. Effective reach is
simply the percentage of people in the target
audience who receive the advertising message
frequently enough (usually five times or more in
a year) that they become aware of the message
and comprehend its content.
 The leading tobacco brands reached a
majority of teens with five or more
exposures, which almost ensures that their
brand advertising will be memorable and
impactful
Attention
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The Truth Campaign gains attention
by its hard hitting facts with humor.
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It appeals to Generation Y because of
its use of real people, and real
problems
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Use of the orange dot can be easily
recognized with the Truth Campaign
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Use of the orange strain of yarn
Comprehension
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The ads were easy to follow and understand but did not address the
following:
The Truth recognized that although everyone knows about the Surgeon
General's warning on cigarettes, very few seem to comprehend why the
warning is actually there.
There is high awareness among the general public and among smokers of
the health risks of tobacco.
Most are aware of the harm caused to smokers and by second-hand smoke.
However, the public views the effects of light/mild cigarettes as less serious
than those of smoking in general.
Smokers are less convinced that non-smokers of the health risks of smokers
in general, the effects of light/mild cigarettes, and the effects of secondhand smoke.
There is some confusion about light and mild cigarettes and considerable
skepticism of industry motives in this regard.
Most think that the tobacco industry labels cigarettes as light or mild
because the industry wants to appeal to smokers who are concerned about
their health and wants to suggest that light/mild cigarettes are healthier.
Attracting/ Retention/Behavior
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The Truth Campaign attracts those who have been exposed to smoking.
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Evokes feelings
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Facilitates Memory due to repetition of exposure, aids personal linkage by
using real people, and it uses humor to affect behavior.
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15.6 billion fewer cigarette sales, a decline of 3.8%
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Approximately 3.9 billion cigarettes are given away annually since 2000
Strength/ Weakness
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Shock Factor
Surprise Factor
Well targeted
Imitating WOM makes
it trustworthy
High level of
exposure, and
extensive reach
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Risky- limited control
over how public will
react
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Messages perceived as
offensive
Hierarchy of Effects
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High Involvement Hierarchy
 Cognition
 First
Affect
Behavior
Consumers are made aware of the brand
 They become affected by the message, and
the image displayed on the ad
 They make a decision whether to continue to
smoke or quit
Foote Cone & Belding Model
Motives for buying into the Brand
 High involvement, High Thinking, High
Feeling
 The Truth Campaign is an informative
message, that appeals to the self, and
maintains awareness
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Debate with Phillip Morris
Campaign
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Think, Don’t Smoke
 Targets those who already do not
smoke
 Neglects the long term health
effects
 Least effective
 Relied on opinions, as
opposed to facts.
 Due to the loss of market share,
companies are no longer
obligated to fund the campaigns.
Success of the Truth Campaign
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The Truth campaign, as a whole, seems to do a fair job at constantly
reminding consumers through repitition, elaboration (especially selfreferencing), consistency, and easy-to-remember stimuli
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75% of all 12-17 year olds in the nation could accurately describe at least
one of the truth campaigns.
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90% said the ad they saw was convincing
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85% said the ad gave them good reason to not smoke
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“Body Bags” was the most effective Truth Ad
 Simple and direct
Interesting Facts
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75% of all 12-17 year olds in the nation could accurately describe at
least one of the truth campaigns.
Teenagers smoke more than a billion cigarettes a year resulting in retail
sales worth over $400 million.
It is estimated that 55% of young men and 51% of young women who
started smoking by age 15 will die before age 70 if they continue to
smoke.
Each year, 2,204,837 are introduced to smoking for the first time
The average beginning age for smokers is 14.5 years old. Few
individuals take up the smoking habit after the age of 20.
About 1 out of every 5 deaths in the US can be attributed to tobacco
products
Every eight seconds, someone in the world dies due to tobacco.
Recommendations
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Use of Radio to get message across
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Find another source of funding for the campaigns
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Extend the brand line by implementing Anti Drinking
ads
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Take the idea of localizing the campaign to different
countries and have a world wide campaign
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Reduce the knowledge gap that exist between
consumer and the Brand
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Use of more Non-traditional Marketing
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Use of more then just one way broadcast. Try direct
mail, event sponsorship
Questions???