The Truth Campaign has been credited with lowering the teen smoking rate from 23% just 15 years ago, to just 8% today. Its ever-evolving ads, such as those where body bags were piled outside a tobacco company’s headquarters and a smoking-scarred cowboy serenaded onlookers with an electrolarynx-assisted voice, grabbed people’s attention like no other anti-tobacco PSAs ever had. The Legacy Foundation’s Truth campaign changed the framework and tone for communicating with smokers and aspiring smokers: this wasn’t your mom, dad or teacher wagging a finger at you for lighting up, instead it aimed to be a cool kid there to clue you in on a diabolical conspiracy.

More recently, Legacy has evolved once again into the Finishers campaign to keep up with today’s youth. Since the Finishers campaign launched, the organization has seen a 175% increase in visits to its website, and a 650% increase in Facebook engagement. On the back of the rebrand comes the next phase of the Finishers that will continue to hit on the unexpected ways the tobacco industry continues to lure in young consumers. The new ad, which launches during the 2015 Teen Choice Awards, and will air during other high-profile events like the VMAs, doesn’t talk about cigarettes as much as more non-traditional smoking that is seeing an increase in popularity. Given its target audience of 15- to 21-year-olds, it’s no surprise the Truth Initiative is spending upwards of 40% of its marketing investment in digital and social, balancing its TV spend with ongoing work across all the obvious platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and Periscope.

TFW has long been involved in efforts to eliminate youth tobacco use. Let’s help the Truth Campaign #finishit

Read the entire article about the new campaign HERE