Don't be fooled -- this is no Lucky Charms commercial. If you're familiar with the Truth campaigns against cigarettes, then you know the ads tend to be rather gorey. The latest ad, however, goes against spreading awareness with a new approach that's actually even a bit... cute.
"A Magical Amount" created by Arnold and Crispin Porter + Bogusky includes animated, singing unicorns, bullhorns and leprechauns. They start on in the real world in a rally against smoking. "Too much nicotine can make you sick," one person says. That's when the unicorn chimes in, "That's why they need the magical amount!" They talk about cigarette agencies adding the "magical amount" of nicotine to cigarettes to keep you from feeling sick, but still addicted.
Check out the video!
Key Themes Behind This Trend
- Anti-smoking Messaging Without Gore
- Opportunity to develop advertising campaigns against smoking using alternative messaging approaches to resonate with a wider audience.
- Animated Advertisements
- Opportunity to create animated advertisements to highlight important issues that are both entertaining and impactful.
- Humorous Anti-smoking Campaigns
- Opportunity to create humorous advertising campaigns that emphasize the absurdities of smoking and help to further denormalize the behavior.
Where This Applies
- Advertising
- The advertising industry can leverage emerging mediums such as animated advertisements to create new campaigns that resonate with an increasingly digital audience.
- Public Health
- The public health industry can develop anti-smoking campaigns that reach a broader audience by utilizing messaging approaches that move beyond graphic content.
- Entertainment
- The entertainment industry can create animated content that promotes healthy behavior, from anti-smoking messages to encouraging physical activity.
