truth® Continues to Show “What it Takes”
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truth® Continues to Show “What it Takes”
11/19/2009
New Ads, Games, TV Integrations and More for “Do You Have What It Takes?” Campaign
The current advertising campaign from truth®, the nation’s largest smoking prevention campaign for youth, continues to explore 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.
truth® gives teens the facts and information they need to make informed choices about tobacco use, by reaching them through media and at events where they naturally gather and share information: popular music and sporting events, online, through social networks and on the television shows they watch.
NEW ELEMENTS:
Videos:
For “Do You Have What It Takes?,” truth® set up a mock recruiting office in New York City and invited real-life job seekers to interview for executive-level positions. Once in the interview, the candidates were questioned by a trained improvisational actor posing as an employment recruiter. The interactions were recorded by hidden cameras and, though many of the questions were scripted, the candidates’ reactions were real. Participants were connected to real recruiters after their interviews.
- In Problem Solving, which rolled out online and in cinemas in 7 states starting October 30, the job candidate is asked what he would do if his “company sells a product that kills people.” The candidate promptly replies that he’d sell the company. After he’s told that his suggestion of selling the company is not an option, the recruiter asks him whether he’d just change the name as one tobacco company did to “focus attention away from tobacco.” Problem Solving rolled out online and in cinemas in 7 states, beginning October 30. The seven states where the ad is showing in cinemas are all states that have benefited from a grant from the CDC, which is helping truth® increase its reach in primarily rural areas across the country.
- Looking into the future, an advertisement called Nostradamus rolls out online only during the week of 11/9. In one of the more humorous responses of the campaign, the job candidate challenges the estimate by the World Health Organization that tobacco could potentially kill 1 billion people around the world this century. The candidate says that fact could no longer be applicable, by bringing up the French author Nostradamus’ prediction that the world will end in 2012 due to the alignment of the planets.
- In Side Effects, which will be online starting November 30 and in cinemas in 7 states starting December 4, the recruiter asks whether the candidate would be okay with the fact that the product sold by her company caused side effects like cancer, emphysema or lung disease. Each time, she says “no”, she would not be okay. The interviewer tries to neutralize the situation, telling her “only” 8.6 million people in the US have diseases like these from tobacco use.” But the candidate insists she is still “not cool with it.” Side Effects will roll out online and in cinemas in 7 states, starting November 30. Again the seven states where the ad will be shown in cinemas are all states that have benefited CDC grant funding.
Where to see it:
· All videos from the DYHWIT campaign can be found at thetruth.com/videos or on the campaign’s YouTube page.
· Problem Solving and Side Effects are both being shown in cinemas: Problem Solving rolled out at the end of October; Side Effects will launch in cinemas beginning December 4.
Games:
The campaign’s main Web site, thetruth.com, has always featured games designed to be challenging and entertaining while always imparting facts about tobacco use. Two recent games continue to add to the popular catalog.
- Addictor Click challenges the player to match three or more items related to coffee, carrots, jogging, M&Ms, Twinkies or Gummi Bears -- all items and activities that people eat or use. In internal documents, Big Tobacco has posited that regularly using these items or activities is comparable to the addictiveness of tobacco. Until recently, Addictor Click was only available on thetruth.com, but is now accessible from the campaign’s many social networking site (www.facebook.com/truthorange) (www.myspace.com/truthorange). Between June and the end of October, Addictor Click had been played more than 189,000 times.
- Type or Die is a test of how quickly a player can type a phrase in 6.5 seconds. The phrases get progressively harder as the player advances. Experiencing how quickly the time passes emphasizes the tragic fact that one person dies from tobacco-related illness every 6.5 seconds in the U.S. Type or Die will have its own, unique URL (www.typeordiegame.com), and will be supported by online ads that will allow users to play the game within the interactive banners.
Television Integrations:
truth® -related content will appear in several media outlets this fall in custom content related to the DYHWIT campaign and the recently completed tours.
- G4
Kevin Pereira will review Type or Die for an “Indie Games” segment on the G4 Network – a regular roundup giving viewers information on the latest games. The segment will direct viewers to go to thetruth.com to play the game and find out if they have what it takes to be a tobacco executive.
- Teen Nick
TeenNick, Nickelodeon's 24-hour network for and about teens, is creating holiday-themed minis of Degrassi: The Next Generation for television, in which cast members Charlotte Arnold (Holly J), Raymond Ablack (Sav), and Dalmar Abuzeid (Danny) will don truth®-related clothing. Degrassi: The Next Generation is a fictional, dramatic series that tackles tough issues in a realistic way. The most authentic teen drama on television, Degrassi explores an interesting group of adolescents and young adults going through the trials and tribulations at Degrassi Community School and beyond.
The truth®-related clothing on the Degrassi Holiday Minis was created especially for the truth® tours. truth®-branded fashion-forward “gear” like tote bags, long and short sleeve t-shirts and more was created to convey important messages about tobacco use and the tobacco industry with a goal empowering young people with knowledge about tobacco. Beginning November17, fans can purchase the gear at www.thetruth.com.
When to See It:
- The G4 integration will run beginning November 16 and the TeenNick Degrassi Minis will roll out November 27.
Summer and Fall Tours:
truth® wrapped up its 10th annual nationwide summer tour in August. Traveling throughout the United States, young adult truth® “crew members” interacted with youth across the country at local stops of popular summer musical and sporting events, all in an effort to educate young people about the health effects and social consequences of tobacco use.
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” made more than 60 stops across 25 states, traveling to some of the season’s hottest teen-oriented events.
Through a grant from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), truth® recently competed a fall tour in seven states that extended the summer tour into the month of October and the campaign’s reach to smaller, rural markets, especially underserved communities. A special radio spot was produced for the fall tour as well, running in states with tour stops.
Latest Research:
Recent research published in the American Journal of Public Health shows that the three-year partnership between truth® and the CDC to augment the national television media buy with local broadcasting was found to be a cost-effective method to raise awareness and extending the reach of the campaign to rural youth. Indeed, the study found that awareness of truth® increased from 40 percent to 71 percent among youths in treatment markets. Youths living in rural and low population density communities were receptive to the campaign’s messages.
Overall, the study found:
- More than 70% of youths in the treatment markets were aware of the campaign after the increased advertising, compared to 40% before the increased advertising.
- Youth living in rural and low population density communities were highly receptive to the campaign’s messages:
- 80 percent agreed that all of the advertisements they saw were convincing
- 82 percent agreed that the ads grabbed their attention
- 77 percent agreed that the ads gave them good reasons not to smoke.
- Confirmed awareness of truth® increased from 40% to 71% among youth in treatment markets, while not shifting significantly in comparison markets where advertising did not increase.
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.
LegacySM is dedicated to building a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit. Located in Washington, D.C., the national public health organization helps American live longer, healthier lives. Legacy 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 having contributed 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; and research initiatives exploring the causes, consequences and approaches to reducing tobacco use. 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.legacyforhealth.org.
LegacySM 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; Patricia McLaughlin, 202-454-5560, pmclaughlin@legacyforhealth.org