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truth® Kicks off its 10th Annual Summer Tour
6/26/2009
With VANS WARPED Tour, AST Dew Tour, ROCK THE BELLS, and Others
Washington, DC; June 26, 2009 – truth®, the nation’s largest smoking prevention campaign for youth, will begin its 10th annual nationwide summer tour on Friday, June 26 in Los Angeles, CA. By traveling throughout the U.S. this summer, truth® will continue its life-saving mission to educate young people about the health effects and social consequences of tobacco use. Young adult truth® “crew members” will interact with youth across the country at local stops of popular summer musical and sporting events.
Every year, truth® crews connect with more than 500,000 teens, allowing teens to experience the truth® campaign first-hand. This year, two crews and their signature orange “truth® trucks” will make more than 60 stops across 25 states, as they travel to some of the season’s hottest teen-oriented events. One crew will spend the summer traveling with the Vans Warped Tour®, an annual summer rock festival featuring upcoming bands as well as more well-known rock acts like Flogging Molly, 3OH!3, Bad Religion and We the Kings.
A second truth® crew will appear at different venues including:
· AST Dew Tour,an action sports tour, features the top action sports athletes in the world competing for the highly coveted Dew Cup in skateboarding, BMX and freestyle motocross. Previous champions include Nate Adams and Jamie Bestwick.
· ROCK THE BELLS 2009, an international hip hop festival featuring performances by leading artists including Nas, The Roots, Common and more.
· Select Simon Malls throughout the country. The Simon dTOUR Live(R) is one of the biggest teen mall tours in the country, featuring BMX bike demos, hot music acts and interactive games and contests outside these ever-popular teen destinations.
· truth® will also make impromptu, unannounced appearances at popular teen-oriented events such as music events, skateparks, beaches and more in cities like New York and others.
“Traveling on its tenth tour this summer marks an enormous milestone for the truth® youth smoking prevention campaign. Over the last decade, we’ve been able to connect with literally millions of teens and present important information about tobacco in a dynamic, fun environment,” said Cheryl G. Healton, Dr. P.H., president and CEO of the American Legacy Foundation®. “According to research published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, approximately 450,000 fewer adolescents and young adults initiated smoking as a result of the truth® campaign from 2000 to 2004. The summer tour is a tremendously effective part of that success; teens now look for our presence on tour and it gives us the perfect forum for teens to experience the campaign up close and in a personal, participatory fashion.”
Selected from a pool of more than 1400 applicants, the truth® crew members are talented and charismatic young adults that engage in peer-to-peer interaction with teens attending concerts and events. The fun and engaging atmosphere makes it easier for truth® crew members to discuss tobacco issues in a non-preachy way. Most tour stops feature the distinctive orange truth® truck and zone, which forms a natural gathering place. In the zone, crew members hold fashion shows, dance contests, and freestyle rap “battles”; teach DJ lessons through “Scratch Academy” (a group of DJs who school newcomers on the fundamentals of DJ’ing, scratching and mixing music); play games, and distribute truth® “gear” – fashionable and trendy items reflecting tobacco messages.
This summer, truth® crew members will also be part of a new effort by the truth® campaign to rename the term ‘Lung Cancer’ to ‘Big Tobacco Disease,’ in response to the fact that 90% of lung cancer comes from Big Tobacco’s products. The Big Tobacco Disease effort kicked off on June 24th at the Knitting Factory in Los Angeles with a free concert. “truth®’s Live Playlist: In Conjunction with imeem and powered by Mozes,” featured headlining, up and coming bands Escape The Fate along with Sing It Loud, I Set My Friends On Fire and The Blackout. Teens at the event experienced elements of the truth® campaign through arresting artistic displays using dynamic lighting and visual effects that bring tobacco facts and campaign elements to life. Signatures for a petition to rename lung cancer were collected at the event through wall-covering graffiti stations. In addition, truth® debuted branded gear created specifically for the Big Tobacco Disease effort. Beyond the entertainment aspects of the event, the artistic displays, signature collection and gear allowed for a rich educational experience that reiterated key facts and messages about tobacco to the 1000 teens that attended.
The Big Tobacco Disease gear will be part of the mix of truth®-branded gear that is given out on tour, including tote bags, bracelets, t-shirts and more. All of the gear was created using images cool enough for teens to wear, yet the items still spread important messages about tobacco use and the tobacco industry. The goal of such giveaways is to create innovative and fashion-forward gear items that empower young people with knowledge about tobacco. Two signature Big Tobacco Disease t-shirts are being produced, while other t-shirts and gear will include general facts about the tobacco industry, and the toll of tobacco use and tobacco-related disease.
The summer program will be enhanced online at www.thetruth.com, which receives approximately 200,000 visitors per month. At the site, users can learn about truth®, meet truth® crew members who will be out on tour, view video blogs and photos from the field, find out where upcoming events will be taking place, and view updates from tour stops. Free tickets to events can also be won online.
The truth® tour and crew members will also be featured throughout the summer on television shows and channels popular with teens.
- Fuel TV will air segments with the crew members at three stops on the AST Dew Tour on either “The Daily Habit” or “The Weekly Update with Boost Mobile.”
- fuse TV will interview crew members and bands about their experiences on the Vans Warped Tour as part of their “Warped Wednesday” programming, a day dedicated to giving Fuse viewers an in-depth look at the Vans Warped Tour.
- SíTV, the cable network for Latinos by Latinos, will include updates on truth® at the Vans Warped Tour during the show “On the Up.”
truth® is a multi-dimensional campaign, featuring not only grassroots outreach through summer tours but also advertising (television, radio, print, online, cinema), Web sites and interactive elements, and events.
The latest advertising campaign from the truth® youth smoking prevention campaign explores the kinds of decisions tobacco industry executives undertake – decisions that make for a successful, but deadly business. The ad campaign, called Do You Have What It Takes? asks real-life job-seekers whether they would be willing to participate in the types of decisions and situations that tobacco industry executives have made or encountered. The new campaign rolled out at the end of May with television, print, cinema and online advertisements, along with a new Web site and social-networking elements.
Arnold Worldwide/Boston is responsible for the design and gear for the summer program. GTM…It means a lot (Atlanta), manages truth® crew recruiting and operations, and the ad*itive (Philadelphia), a marketing communications company, oversees public relations. Mobile Media Enterprises of Atlanta provides all logistical and asset support.
For more information on the Vans Warped Tour, visit www.warpedtour.com
For more information on the AST Dew Tour, visit http://www.allisports.com/tours/dew-tour
For more information on the Rock The Bells, visit http://www.guerillaunion.com/rockthebells/
BACKGROUND ON THE truth® CAMPAIGN
truth®, launched in February 2000, is the largest national youth smoking prevention campaign and the only national campaign not directed by the tobacco industry. The campaign exposes the tactics of the tobacco industry, the truth about addiction, and the health effects and social consequences of smoking. truth® allows teens to make informed choices about tobacco use by giving them the facts about the industry and its products.
The American Legacy Foundation® is dedicated to building a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit. Located in Washington, D.C., the foundation develops programs that address the health effects of tobacco use, especially among vulnerable populations disproportionately affected by the toll of tobacco, through grants, technical assistance and training, partnerships, youth activism, and counter-marketing and grassroots marketing campaigns. The foundation’s programs include truth®, a national youth smoking prevention campaign that has been cited as contributing to significant declines in youth smoking; EX®, an innovative public health program designed to speak to smokers in their own language and change the way they approach quitting; research initiatives exploring the causes, consequences and approaches to reducing tobacco use; and a nationally-renowned program of outreach to priority populations. The American Legacy Foundation was created as a result of the November 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) reached between attorneys general from 46 states, five U.S. territories and the tobacco industry. Visit http://www.americanlegacy.org/.
The American Legacy Foundation® is equipped with a VideoLink ReadyCam™ television studio system, providing you with faster, easier access to the nation’s leading tobacco prevention and cessation experts. From this in-house broadcast studio, Legacy can offer immediate access to its experts to comment on breaking news, new research publications, or any news related to youth smoking prevention, adult quit smoking programs, or any issue related to smoking. The studio is connected directly to the Vyvx fiber network and is always available for live or pre-taped interviews. To arrange an interview using the ReadyCam, please contact Julia Cartwright at 202-454-5596.
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Contact: Stephen Winkler, 215-525-1106, swinkler@ad-itive.com