4.07.2009

PEOPLE ARE STILL SMOKING??

Over the past few years in New York the decrease in smoking has been evident in the wake of the ban on smoking in bars and restaurants, but that's not enough. The above campaign assumes a different position than those created by organizations like Truth by not condemning smoking, but by offering the help to quit. By now we all know how bad smoking is for you -- it's utterly absurd and crazy to ignore the adverse effects smoking has on your body. The NYCgo people have tapped into this evolved mentality and are extending the effort by offering to actually help people quit. This is great. But the media buy? Not so great.

NYCgo could be utilizing other media to communicate their message of help since a subway turnstile is not a visible media placement, especially considering the crowded nature of subways and the rapidity with which people move to get out of the subway and to their destination.

If they really wanted to use a turnstile, it could have at least been more creative in, say, making the bar into a cigarette with a line like, "PUSH SMOKING OUT OF YOUR LIFE" or "PUSH THEM OUT FOR GOOD" or "WE'LL GIVE YOU THAT EXTRA PUSH." And to take advantage of a tight physical space, a microsite with more information on exactly how NYC can help you quit could have been developed with the same name as the headline for economy of space (e.g. PushThemOutForGood.com). Also, I don't know about anyone else, but I can't dial 311 from my cell phone.

Another way to communicate their message could have been a creative sampling to show how NYC can help you kick the habit. I think the city offers free Nicorette/Nicoderm, and placing samples of these things in ashtrays on bar counters could also drive the message more directly to the smoker populace.

An additional avenue could be to advertise on something every smoker needs: matches. A special matchbook could be developed for dispersement at drug stores and bodegas that appears to be a normal book on the outside, but on the inside the sticks could resemble individual cigarettes so that when someone tears a stick out, it is as if the cigarette is torn in half. This could be paired with relevant messaging on the inside cover of the matchbook.

Jus' sayin'.

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