Monday, July 23, 2012

Smoking? Packet In.

I personally hate to see packets of cigarettes with those horrible images of what they can do to your body lying around. When I was little I saw my 50 a day smoking uncle on a machine that breathed for him, that kind of put me off for life.

I think doing things to put people off smoking is one of those times where seriously interfering in people's lives and habits is actually worthwhile. I think these disturbing images and hiding cigarettes away with no branding is a good start, and will hopefully make a difference.

I do think though, that packets should be thinking a bit more behaviourally, and focus on things that are happening right now rather than on possible future occurances that people can and will put to the back of their brain. Can we make the warnings exactly about this cigarette in your hand right now?

Each Cigarette You Smoke Makes Your breath Tastes Like a Dogs Arse (and no a mint won't hide it)

This Cigarette is Making Your Teeth and Fingers a Lovely Yellow

For the Cost of This Packet You Could have Bought Two Pints of Beer

Smoking This Cigarette Will Add Wrinkles to Your Face

Slightly silly maybe, but maybe your average smoker on a night out would be far more put off by the thought of their breath being horrible when they chat to the opposite (or same) sex than they are by a picture of a horrible lung that they can put as a future event that won't likely happen to them.

The best anti-amoking ad I have seen in a long long time did a great job of dragging the negatives of smoking into this precise moment, and making people consider the full journey in another person that they don't think about for themselves. A fantastic piece of work from both a strategic and creative point of view.

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