Anti-smoking campaign targets youth with mobile widget

By Dan Butcher

July 10, 2008

No more smoke-and-mirrors

The American Legacy Foundation, a smoking prevention-focused nonprofit, has launched a mobile widget as part of its integrated "truth" campaign against Big Tobacco.

Songs created for a previous foundation campaign, "Sunny Side of truth," have been remixed by famous DJs and will be available to people via the mobile widget. The remixed tracks can also be packaged as a CD compilation and will be available for download online as part of an effort to reach a wider teen audience through technology, alternative media and entertainment outlets.

"We're trying to broaden our reach and take a new approach to targeting youth ages 12-17," said Nicole Dorrler, senior director of marketing for the Washington-based foundation. "We want to extend our audience base through music, which this generation sees as an expression of its freedom and creativity."

As part of the truth campaign's "ReMix" project, artists including Cobra Starship, Kaskade, Z-Trip, Diplo, Mix Master Mike, Pete Rock, Kenny "Dope" Gonzales, DJ Spooky and DJ Sega remixed songs from the current series of advertisements from the nation's largest youth smoking prevention effort.

Teens using the widget can share the remixed songs by sending them to friends' phones with a personalized message. The widget is available at http://www.thetruth.com and on the campaign's social networking profiles.

In tune with teens

"We're letting teens share music from these top-name DJs and bands peer-to-peer via our mobile widget," Ms. Dorrler said. "We want to seem more underground, less corporate and less sponsored by taking advantage of viral branding."

Despite the campaign's upbeat, playful tone, the ads deliver a strong message and illuminate facts about tobacco. The goal is to give young people the information they need to gauge the risks of smoking and make good decisions.

Meanwhile, the "Sunny Side of truth" campaign aimed to shine light on the activities of Big Tobacco and the health consequences of tobacco use by satirically pointing out the "hidden positives" associated with tobacco.

Not Roy Orbison

"We've classified our target as high-sensation-seeking teens, those who tend to engage in risky behavior," Ms. Dorrler said. "They tend to be rebellious thought leaders, fashion-forward music mavens, and they tend to be early adopters of new technology and music."

The current project will be accessible on multiple platforms, including the Web, video, podcasts, television, radio, a summer tour and mobile.

"With the mobile widget, we're testing the mobile space in a teen-friendly way," Ms. Dorrler said. "You don't want to be too invasive, since teens see their mobile phone as a personal communications device that they hold very dear, so we're trying to get them to spread the message virally, peer-to-peer."

Visitors to the campaign's Web sites or social networking pages click on the send to friend button. Once the widget pops up, consumers are prompted to enter their personal phone number and can send the song to four other people by entering their phone numbers.

Consumers pick a song and click on "Call me." In return, they receive a call asking them to record a personal message to accompany the remixed song.

"More kids gravitating online, playing with mobile widgets, visiting social networking sites," Ms. Dorrler said. "We don't see this as a one-off. We're taking an all-encompassing approach, taking music to nontraditional venues and media."

Ten ReMix songs were made available for listening July 9 at http://www.thetruth.com/remix and truth-branded pages on social networks, including Facebook and MySpace. The songs play on various music sites. By month's end, they will be available for download from digital distribution sites.

Visitors to thetruth.com can watch behind-the-scenes videos showing the DJs and bands creating the songs and discussing the program. These are also available as downloadable podcasts.

Podcasts with Z-Trip and Kenny Dope kicked off the ReMix project July 9. A selection of podcasts will be featured as vignettes on the VH1, Fuel and the N cable networks. In addition, G4's "Attack of the Show" will use ReMix songs as background music.

ReMix songs have begun playing on radio stations across the country.

CDs will be distributed by truth trucks and crews at stops on the 60-city, 30-state truth summer tour, including events such as the Vans Warped Tour. Later this path, consumers buying Vans tour tickets through Ticketmaster.com will be offered a free download from the ReMix CD.

Later this summer, the truth campaign will ask fans to create their own ReMixes and upload them to imeem.com for judging.

"One out of three tobacco users will die from a tobacco-related disease and we're giving youth that life-saving message via many forms of media," Ms. Dorrler said. "Music is a tool to connect with our audience and deliver the message in a non-preachy way."