Have you ever noticed that a disproportionate number of celebrities happen to smoke in their spare time? That fact provides the motivation behind this new spot for truth (itself an offshoot of the national public health organization Legacy), created by 72andSunny in order to cast these “unpaid” Big Tobacco spokespeople as the very opposite of what we might call “role models.”
Many of the famous faces in the ad didn’t see it because they were too busy attending the Video Music Awards on which it aired (and, presumably, smoking).
That’s not to say that the people at truth don’t love Chris Brown as much as the prototypical “next guy” who does not happen to be Suge Knight.
Another spot created to explain the first below.
There’s a larger point to the campaign: while the candid celebrity pics drew attention, truth wants to encourage teens to use their examples as inspiration to “Finish It”, it being the precipitous drop in youth smoking rates and the behavior in general.
The argument here is that Brown, RPattz, Rihanna and their big-name friends have become the newest form of (free) advertising for that classic bad guy, Big Tobacco. truth, on the other hand, wants to turn anti-smoking teens into “brand advocates” on social by encouraging them to add a “Finish It” graphic to their avatars.
Here’s our favorite part:
“Erase & Replace – sharable content which removes cigarettes from photos on social media, and encourages teens and young people to use their own creativity and sense of fun to replace cigarette-related images with other images.”
While we have to applaud truth’s efforts to reduce the number of young people who smoke, we do wonder whether they’ve read any of the e-cig trend pieces popping up in major papers. Here’s an unpaid spokesperson:
72andSunny Credits
Chief Creative Officer Glenn Cole
Group Creative Director Justin Hooper
Group Creative Director Mick DiMaria
Lead Designer Allbriton Robbins
Lead Writer Beau Unruh
Chief Strategy Officer Matt Jarvis
Group Strategy Director Matt Johnson
Sr. Strategist Ravi Khanna
Strategist Josh Hughes
Managing Director James Townsend
Group Brand Director Judson Whigham
Brand Director Kristine Soto
Brand Director Luke Lamson
Brand Coordinator Tracey Horwitz
Brand Coordinator Chelsea Gilroy
Chief Production Officer Tom Dunlap
Director of Film Production Sam Baerwald
Sr. Film Producer Calleen Colburn
Sr. Art Producer Sabrina Bajaj
Freelance Art Producer Denise Knickerbocker
Art Production Coordinator Brigitte Bishop
Business Affairs Director Michelle McKinney
Group Business Affairs Director Amy Jacobsen
Business Affairs Coordinator Amy Shah
Sr. Designer Geo Panch (Interactive)
Designer Sarah Herron (Interactive)
Writer Rebecca Ullman (Interactive)
Jr. Designer Jessica Robles (Interactive)
Jr. Writer Joseph Saroufim (Interactive)
Jr. Creative Technologist Emilio Canton (Interactive)
Director of Interactive Production Heather Wischmann (Interactive)
Interactive Executive Producer Daniel Laiblin (Interactive)
Sr. Interactive Producer Nick Boganwright (Interactive)
Sr. Interactive Producer Thomas Dawson (Interactive)
Analyst Seth Mills (Interactive)
Technical Lead James Fiszer (Interactive)
UX Design Director Melissa Bell (Interactive)
Sr. UX Designer Jessica Rudzewicz (Interactive)
Jr. UX Designer Andrew Lindley (Interactive)
Editorial: 72andSunny Studio
Sr. Editor Scott Culver
VFX: 72andSunny Studio
Telecine: MPC LA
Audio: LIME
Mixer Rohan Young
Music Credits: Finishers: “Revolusion” by Elliphant
Unpaid: “Throw It Down” by Dominique Young Unique
Response: “Triple Chrome Dipped” by Michna
Music Supervisor (Unpaid): Anne Litt
Art Production Credits (production partners)
Production Company: Joy Asbury Productions
Photographer Christian Weber
Producer Joy Asbury
Interactive Credits (production partners)
Production Company: B-Reel
Executive Producer/Partner Eva Mautino
Sr. Producer Kenna Takahashi
Creative Director Petter Westlund
Art Director Ian Bauer
Tech Director Eric Heaton