Anti-Smoking Account in Play

The Minnesota Depart-ment of Health has put its teen anti-smoking account up for review, according to department officials.

The account, which bills $6-7 million annually, has been handled for nearly two years by Campbell Mithun. The Minneapolis agency had an 18-month contract and was awarded a six-month extension, said Michelle Vig, a representative for the DOH. CM is expected to participate in the review, Vig said.

“It was always the intention that at [two years] we would decide what we wanted to do,” Vig said. She said the department will look beyond Minnesota, and has already received inquiries from agencies in Minnesota, Florida, Colorado, New Jersey and North Dakota.

Proposals are due next week, Vig said. The list will be narrowed to five finalists on Sept 24. Final presentations will take place Oct. 5-8, Vig said.

Other local agencies also have gained experience in the category. Clarity Coverdale Fury in Minneapolis has been producing adult-targeted ads for an anti-smoking group in Minnesota. BBDO Minneapolis won New Jersey’s teen anti-smoking effort with a strategy it originally developed for Minnesota two years ago.