Getting off cigarettes
This campaign was designed to increase awareness of the help available to smokers from the NHS, and to encourage smokers to consider using NHS support when quitting. The TV ads feature cigarettes the size of multi-storey buildings with people stranded on top of them. At first they look stuck. But they then use their mobile phones to call the NHS smoking helpline. Cranes and fire ladders then arrive to help the smokers get off – a metaphor for local NHS Stop Smoking Services.
The strategy
Demonstrating empathy is a powerful strategy when targeting smokers, and the strategy behind this campaign was to show smokers that the NHS understood how difficult it was to get off cigarettes and that it had the solutions to help.
The creative
The TV ads featured cigarettes the size of multi-storey buildings with people stranded on top of them. At first they look stuck, but they then use their mobile phones to call the NHS smoking helpline. Cranes and fire ladders then arrive to help the smokers get off. The different means used to get them down showed how people can use a number of different NHS support services to help them quit.
The results
- Recognition of ‘Getting Off Cigarettes’ campaign was very high at 93%
- Made 72% realise that the NHS offers wide range of support, and 52% of smokers thought that it would be easier to quit with NHS support following the campaign
- The ads made 51% think they would be more likely to quit successfully with NHS support, and 42% said they were more likely to use NHS support
- During the campaign, there was an increased belief that:
- NHS offers wide range of support (strongly agree from 41% to 49% in Dec 07)
- You are more likely to succeed at quitting with NHS support (strongly agree from 16% up to 23% in Dec 07)
Media
- TV
- Radio
- Outdoor
- Direct marketing
- Digital
- PR
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