New ads tally smoking’s toll

When federal judge Richard Leon ruled it unconstitutional for the government to require graphic warning labels on cigarette packs recently, he suggested that if the government wanted to mount an emotional anti-smoking campaign, it should do so on it own nickel. On Monday, the federal government did so, launching a $54-million series of ads called “Tips From Former Smokers.”

AdWeek‘s David Gianatasio ranks the multimedia campaign “among the year’s most memorable advertising, and perhaps among the best-ever work in its category.” The ads can be seen at AdWeek’s website; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has yet to post the ads on its site.

The six 30-second spots that so far make up the campaign are brutally honest, if not exactly brutally direct. In them, regular Americans whose lives and health have been changed by tobacco offer their own tips. In the first to air, patients living with tracheostomies offer advice for the smokers who may join them in the future: be careful not to nick the device while shaving; crouch, don’t bend, to prevent the food in your stomach from falling out; suction out your tube before eating.

Hearing such warnings spoken in the buzzing, synthesized voice of a tracheostomy patient compounds the jarring effect of their friendly “tips.” The message then gets right to the point: “Smoking causes immediate damage to your body,” says a stark warning. And a final screen says, “You can quit. For free help, visit www.cdc.gov/quitting/tips.”

Another of the spots features 51-year-old Terrie, whose disfigurement from smoking-related disease is scarcely hidden by her “getting ready in the morning” ritual of false teeth, a wig, a bright scarf to hide her tracheostomy hole and a device that allows her to speak, hands-free. (The message has subtitles because her speech is unintelligible.) And a third spot introduces us to two former smokers, Marie, 61, and Brandon, 31, with Buerger’s disease, a vascular disease, often related to heavy smoking, that necessitated the amputation of Marie’s fingers, “piece by piece,” and both of Brandon’s legs. Both end with the same message: You can quit.

Only one of the six is upbeat. Three former smokers share tips on why they quit, how they quit and what helped. “I kept on trying, learned something new each time,” says James. “Do whatever it takes,” says Wilma. “No matter how many times it takes,” adds James. “We quit. You can too,” says Beatrice.