Legacy® Makes Bold Choice For Its Next Generation Of truth® -telling, Naming 72andSunny As Its New Creative Partner

WASHINGTON, Feb. 25, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- 72andSunny is the new creative agency for the truth campaign, a nationally-recognized, proven-effective public health intervention, recognized as the most successful social marketing effort in US history. 

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Legacy, the national public health foundation that directs and funds the truth campaign, made the announcement today following a comprehensive review involving some of the nation's top advertising talent. The assignment integrates traditional, digital and social.

"The U.S. Surgeon General recently reported that 5.6 million youth alive today will lose their lives to tobacco if we don't step up with game-changing solutions," said Robin Koval, CEO & President of Legacy.  "truth has been one of the most successful social norm-shifting campaigns ever, but to reach a new generation of young people requires a disruptive new approach.  We're confident that 72andSunny will help us create the kind of work necessary to make truth the top teen brand it must be to end this epidemic and create Generation Free – the first smoke-free generation."

72andSunny, a full-service, modern communications agency with offices in Los Angeles and Amsterdam, was recently named "Agency of the Year" by Advertising Age. Significant consumer brand experience, strategically grounded creative, and sound strategic capabilities are all assets the agency brought to the table during the review process. Experience with Web technology, social and digital media, and data/analytics were also assessed during the review stage. 

"Historically, truth's success has come from big ideas that impact youth culture," said Eric Asche, Chief Marketing Officer at Legacy.  "The challenge ahead of us is to build on this momentum in pursuit of the evolving youth audience.  72andSunny brought a transformative approach to the issue that we believe will impact youth culture from the inside.  We're excited to have the agency as a partner in the fight to end this epidemic," he added.

Since the campaign's inception in 2000, a growing body of research has confirmed the efficacy of the truth campaign in changing teens' attitudes and behaviors toward smoking, and helping to reduce the uptake in youth smoking. truth has won more than 450 awards for its marketing, advertising and communications' expertise, including being selected as "Campaign of the Decade" in 2010 in an AdWeek readers' poll. During its 14-year history, truth evolved from its early days producing iconic television ads. To reach teens and young adults, the campaign consistently boosts its digital footprint, expands its grassroots outreach efforts through summer touring, builds media partnerships, and solidifies its base with teens through work in the gaming, fashion, sports and music verticals. 72andSunny will be tasked with expanding this rich legacy, by using the best tools and marketing tactics to grow the campaign and continue to reach truth's core audience effectively through both traditional advertising and digital efforts.    

"Legacy is known for its brave campaigns and creative ambition," said Glenn Cole, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of 72andSunny.  "We are humbled and excited to bring truth to the next generation while collaborating with such passionate, talented people. Look out, Tobacco!"    

The selection of a new creative agency concludes a periodic review process, that ensures the foundation's public education campaigns are benefitting from the best thinking in the marketplace, and that all are assets are used to their fullest advantage. In November, the foundation announced that New York-based MediaCom had been selected as its new media planning and buying agency. MediaCom will help power paid and owned media efforts intended to engage truth's target audience: teens and young people who are open to experimenting with tobacco use.

The pairing of 72andSunny and MediaCom as new truth creative and media buying partners comes at a time when the US Food & Drug Administration and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are both in the marketplace with bold, anti-tobacco mass media initiatives. Together, with an expanded truth campaign, all three campaigns have the potential to serve as catalysts to spark a second wave of historic declines in tobacco use. To that end, Legacy will soon devote new and significant investments in paid advertising to help augment the federal government's commitment to both youth smoking prevention and adult cessation. Such national paid advertising will supplement truth's extensive grassroots and digital outreach in order to fully surround the youth audience that the campaign must reach.

Credited with preventing an estimated 450,000 youth from starting to smoke between 2000 and 2004, truth has long been recognized as an award-winning innovator in changing social norms around smoking. For more than a decade, the campaign has saved lives by arming America's most at-risk teens with the facts about tobacco use and the marketing tactics of the tobacco industry. The campaign, which has included everything from TV, print, and digital advertisements to mobile gaming and an annual grassroots summer tour, has been recognized nationally and internationally for its ground-breaking successes over many years.

Legacy's creative review process began in July 2013. Finalists included: 180LA, Droga5, Anomaly NYC, and BBDO NYC. Pile + Company of Boston handled the review.

Legacy helps people live longer, healthier lives by building a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit. Legacy's proven-effective and nationally recognized public education programs include truth^®, the national youth smoking prevention campaign that has been cited as contributing to significant declines in youth smoking; EX^®, an innovative public health program designed to speak to smokers in their own language and change the way they approach quitting; and research initiatives exploring the causes, consequences and approaches to reducing tobacco use. Located in Washington, D.C., the foundation was created as a result of the November 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) reached between attorneys general from 46 states, five U.S. territories and the tobacco industry.

To learn more about Legacy's life-saving programs, visit www.LegacyForHealth.org. 
Follow us on Twitter at @legacyforhealth and on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/Legacy. 
For more information on 72andSunny, visit http://www.72andsunny.com/
For more information on MediaCom, visit www.MediaComUSA.com.

SOURCE Legacy