Pressure With a Twist

BBDO puts a twist on peer pressure among teens in its latest anti-smoking work for the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services.

The Minneapolis shop this week breaks two TV spots that target teens. One commercial shows a youth pressuring a peer to perform what at first would seem to be an illicit act of some sort. “It’s not going to kill you,” the teen says. “I already did it twice today.” He defends his position, saying 22 million others are with him, before he gets to the twist: “Any one of them will tell you how good it feels to stand up to Big Tobacco.”

Another spot shows a girl at a party telling a friend that “she did it,” and it “felt good” standing up to tobacco companies.