• by John Gaffney , August 7, 2002

An Ohio anti-tobacco foundation today breaks the second wave of a media campaign designed and executed with input from its target audience.

The Ohio Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Foundation (TUPCF), television and radio advertising gives Ohio youth specific reasons why they should stand against tobacco and how they can personally take action to make a difference. The most provocative ads focus on a comment made by an R.J. Reynolds executive and revealed by the "Winston Man," Dave Goerliz. The executive said the company focused its marketing efforts on the "young, black, poor or stupid." In an ad titled "YPBS," a girl shares her outrage at the tobacco industry's targeting of consumers who are, in the words of the executive, "young, black, poor or stupid." She creates a T-shirt with the executive's words, in addition to the phrase, "This is how tobacco companies see you."

Recent anti-tobacco ads have come under fire from advocate groups for their ineffectiveness. Efforts to curb youth smoking from Philip Morris have been attacked as “counterproductive” by The Legacy Foundation, which is behind the “truth” series of anti-smoking ads. Mike Renner, TUPCF executive director said close contact with a group of 51 Teen Advisory Panel members helped the group take a different tact that Federal government ad campaigns, which focused on negative messaging.

“They know tobacco is dangerous,” Renner said. “They’ve heard that over and over. They’ve heard it so many times that they tune it out. They want to know how to deal with a culture that says you need smoke to be cool and be an adult. The tobacco industry knows those are the hot buttons. We’re trying to present some ways for them to form their own patterns of conduct.”

A total of nine executions have been developed for TV by Cincinnati-based Northlich agency. An ad called "Too Different," shows a group of African- American kids engaged in a wide variety of activities. Their message is that they are all different, but, if they smoke, tobacco companies see them all the same. Another ad called “103” Shows teens with 103 different things they can use to express who they are, such as make-up, hair gel, and jewelry. The ad emphasizes that among all of these things kids use to express themselves, only cigarettes kill.

“The kids told us to take a more rebellious approach,” Renner said. “We need to shake up the culture because a change is needed if there’s going to be a true youth movement against tobacco.”