Lights, Camera And Music: truth® Campaign Launches First-Ever College Music Tour

WASHINGTON, Sept. 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Messages from the nation's largest youth smoking prevention campaign will "sing out" at five East Coast and southern universities this fall, as truth^® launches its first-ever on-campus tour. The effort – called truthlive – will include free concerts featuring top musicians Cobra Starship and Outasight and on-campus activities featuring the truth truck and truth tour riders – all supported with advertising and promotions, gear and social media.

To view the multimedia assets associated with this release, please visit: http://www.multivu.com/mnr/53120-truthlive-college-music-tour-youth-smoking-prevention

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In the United States, more than 80 percent of adult smokers tried smoking by age 18 – and more than 90 percent tried it by age 20. Having a presence on college campuses provides an opportunity for truth's smoking prevention message to reach teens and young people who may be experimenting with smoking, thinking about it, or seeing people in their peer group smoke.

"truth's success stems from offering facts and information about tobacco use and tobacco industry marketing practices in channels and through media that are relevant with teens and young people – then allowing them to spread the message themselves with their peers and friend groups," said Cheryl G. Healton, DrPH, president and CEO of Legacy^®, the national public health foundation that directs and funds the truth campaign. "truth's presence in an educational setting will still take that approach – connecting with young people through one of their common 'passion points' – music – as a way to subtly integrate truth's important messages into the experience."

The tour will begin Wednesday, October 3, with a concert at the main Pennsylvania State University campus in State College, and conclude on Thursday, October 11 at Clemson University in South Carolina. Each college tour stop will feature several elements. On the day of the events themselves, truth's presence will include:

• A pop-up promotion on the university campus. There, students can register for the concert – free with registration – and meet truth crew members. Outside each concert venue, truth 'air dancer' balloons and entryway banners will guide students toward the truth on-campus experience.
• The iconic orange truth "truck" and zone will feature truth tour "riders" – young people who educate young people about tobacco use in a fun, informal manner that includes games, interactive activities, dancing, contests and giveaways. A DJ will scratch and mix music and keep the party going. truth "gear" – fashionable and trendy items reflecting tobacco messages – will also be handed out.

Once inside the concert venue the truthlive experience will include:

• Numbered graphics highlighting relevant tobacco statistics, placed on concourse floors. A truth tour rider will be posted at each station to answer questions and engage with students.
• "Photo opp" stations where students can take pictures with "creatures" reflecting tobacco-related facts. Moveable, "bubble" magnets featuring common phrases will allow students to create their own customized captions and photos, which will be emailed to them. truth tour riders will staff the exhibit.
• "Green Screen" – A second photo-related opportunity will allow students to have their photos taken in front of a digital green screen, which will reveal truth creative assets. Photos can then be reviewed and uploaded to students' Facebook walls.
• Signage and truth branding throughout the concert venue
• Video Jockey session – On a big screen onstage, a mix of visual assets from the truth campaign (ads, online creative, photos, etc), will be morphed together with music and laser lights to highlight the campaign through a dynamic visual experience.

All of the truth-related elements will lead up to the big moment – when Cobra Starship and Outasight take the stage to offer students a memorable, free experience. Cobra Starship first "met" truth during the 2008 summer Vans Warped Tour, when the band was a featured musician on tour and the truth crew and truck appeared as part of Vans all-day festival of activities. That summer, Cobra Starship appeared in truth-related videos that appeared online at thetruth.com and on FUEL TV and in a fuel.tv podcast.

"We are absolutely thrilled to have top-notch musicians – popular with the college crowd – taking part in this effort," said Nicole Dorrler, Assistant Vice President of Marketing at Legacy. "Cobra Starship and Outasight are exemplary artists for our inaugural tour, and we look forward to giving college students a memorable concert and experience. After more than a decade of touring with established music tours like the Vans Warped Tour, we know music-related events resonate with teens and young people and we know this unique truth touring experience will as well."

Other tour-related activities will include:

• Advertising – Prior to events in each college or university town, students will see truth-related ads in their college newspapers – in both print and online editions. Online banner ads will also promote truthlive.
• Out of home – Posters will be placed in high-traffic areas on each campus. College campus marketing teams will also hand out fliers directly.
• Social Media
  • Tour details at www.thetruth.com
  • News and events information at @truthorange on Twitter; special hash tag on Twitter to follow all the action - #truthlive
  • Videos from concert events and activities will be posted on truth.com and the truthorange Facebook page
  • Registration for the free concerts will take place on www.facebook.com/truthorange, or students can register at the door. All concerts will be on a first come, first served basis.

Bands' Background:

Cobra Starship
Having recently released its fourth studio album, Night Shades, Cobra Starship has been praised for their ability to meld tongue-in-cheek lyrics with their own irresistible pop songcraft. The band drew immediate attention for its breakout hit "Bring It (Snakes on a Plane)," which propelled them to a #1 debut on Billboard's New Artists chart. The band's third album, Hot Mess, featured the platinum smash "Good Girls Go Bad" (featuring Leighton Meester) while Night Shades garnered, "You Make Me Feel" breaking into the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and receiving a 2X Platinum certification from the RIAA.

Outasight
Outasight is Yonkers, N.Y., native Richard Andrew. Prior to working as a musician, Andrew used to deliver food to the Pepsi compound in Purchase, N.Y. Years later, Pepsi used his first single, "Tonight Is The Night" in their biggest television ad campaign of the last decade. "Tonight Is The Night" went on to become a platinum hit. Rolling Stone magazine recently selected Outasight as one of its "New Faces of 2012." Andrew is also a blogger/contributor to Details Magazine.

truthlive Concert dates and locations:

Tour Background

For the inaugural truthlive college tour, Legacy and the truth campaign worked in partnership with several creative agencies. Arnold Worldwide, Legacy's agency of record on the truth campaign, created the design of the truth zone, the truthlive experience, and the summer truth gear; New York City-based experiential + word of mouth marketing agency Escalate implemented and provided overall support for the truthlive experience; Los Angeles-based marketing and creative agency Viva La Rock provided talent sourcing and artist relations.

BACKGROUND ON THE truth CAMPAIGN

truth, launched in February 2000, is the largest national youth smoking prevention campaign and the only national campaign not directed by the tobacco industry. The campaign exposes the tactics of the tobacco industry, the truth about addiction, and the health effects and social consequences of smoking. truth allows teens to make informed choices about tobacco use by giving them the facts about the industry and its products.

truth is a multidimensional campaign, featuring not only grassroots outreach through summer tours but also advertising, websites and interactive elements, and events. A growing body of research has confirmed the efficacy of the truth campaign in changing teens' attitudes and behaviors toward smoking. A study published in the May 2009 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (AJPM) found that truth was directly responsible for keeping 450,000 teens from starting to smoke during its first four years, from 2000 to 2004. A second paper in that same publication found that the campaign not only paid for itself in its first two years but also saved roughly $1.9 billion and possibly up to $5.4 billion in medical care costs to society.

truth^® is the largest national youth smoking prevention campaign and the only national campaign not directed by the tobacco industry. The campaign exposes the tactics of the tobacco industry, the truth about addiction, and the health effects and social consequences of smoking. truth gives teens facts and information about the tobacco industry and its products, allowing them to make their own informed choices about tobacco use. Research-proven as an effective public health intervention, the campaign is credited with keeping hundreds of thousands of teens from starting to smoke. To learn more, visit www.thetruth.com. truth is directed and funded by Legacy, a national public health foundation located in Washington, D.C. Legacy 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.

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SOURCE Legacy