In November 2011, the ‘Smokefree Generation’ campaign was re-launched to motivate smokers to stop smoking and encourage them to order a Quit Kit. Smokers were asked to text their details or visit the Smokefree website to receive a Quit Kit. The campaign was first run in autumn 2009, and featured real children – not actors – making stop smoking appeals to their parents, showing smoking as the ‘enemy of the family’.
The strategy
The aim of the Smokefree Generation campaign was to show smokers that their smoking didn’t just affect them, it affected their children too. Real children were invited to make emotional appeals to their parents to stop smoking, setting the campaign in real life rather than fiction. The campaign featured specific ads that referenced the TV programmes they were shown in the ad breaks for, to appeal to the target audience.
The creative
Real children of smokers were invited to make personalised (and unscripted) appeals to their parents. This gave the campaign greater poignancy and impact than could have been achieved if real actors and scripts had been used. Smokefree Generation ran on TV, radio and through search advertising and promoted the Quit Kit to smokers.
The results
176,000 Quit Kits were distributed during the 4-week campaign
The campaign generated 86% recognition of the adverts
54% of people surveyed said that the ads made them think more deeply about the impact of smoking on their family and loved ones, and 26% took some action after seeing the ads
31% of people said that the ads made them more likely to quit
