Death Repackaged
Recognising the power of charity voices to engage with smokers, the Department of Health partnered with Cancer Research UK for the “Death Repackaged” campaign. It was created to highlight the hidden dangers of smoking, particularly the perception that ‘light and mild’ cigarettes are less dangerous. Featuring a range of dangerous animals with cuddly names, the hard-hitting ads exposed how smokers have been misled by terms such as ‘Low Tar’ and ‘Light’. This was also the Department Of Health’s first integrated anti-smoking campaign, including TV, radio, outdoor and press advertising.
The strategy
Research had revealed that 76% of smokers claimed they wanted to quit for more than one reason, so the communications strategy going forward needed to reflect this. A multi-faceted approach was designed to appeal to a wide range of smokers and give them more than one reason to quit.
The Department of Health developed a partnership with Cancer Research UK and the British Heart Foundation approach to use a range of voices to encourage smokers to consider the damage smoking is doing to themselves and loved ones.
The Death Repackaged campaign was the first to launch under this new strategy in partnership with Cancer Research UK, to expose the myth of cigarettes branded as ‘Light’ and ‘Mild’ being less dangerous to health.
The creative
Research showed that cigarettes labelled as ‘Light’ and ‘Mild’ were seen as less dangerous than other cigarettes. The advertising sought to expose this myth. Rolled out across TV, radio, press and outdoor advertising, the Death Repackaged ads featured a Great White Shark called “Susie”; a crocodile called “Mike” and a rattlesnake named “Rosie” – clearly demonstrating that simply giving a dangerous animal a sweet name doesn’t make it any less deadly. The same applies to cigarettes branded ‘Light’ and ‘Mild’ – they are no less dangerous to your health.
The use of ‘Light’ and ‘Mild’ on cigarette packets was banned in September 2003 under the European Union’s Directive on Tobacco Product Regulation.
The results
- After less than a month the number of people who believed the campaign message had more than doubled, outperforming targets
- Over half of smokers took some form of action, such as cutting down on smoking or discussing quitting, as a result of seeing the advertising
- MediaCom estimated that the free media coverage secured through PR was worth £1.5m, almost doubling the ROI to 2:1, showing the effective use of working in partnership.
Media
- TV
- Radio
- Outdoor
- Press ads
- PR
Awards
IPA Effectiveness Awards 2004 (for overall collaborative work between Department of Health, Cancer Research UK and the British Heart Foundation)
- Gold Award
- The Broadbent Prize for Best Dedication to Effectiveness
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