truth® Named One Of The Top 15 Ad Campaigns Of 21st Century
WASHINGTON, Jan. 12, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The truth campaign has been named one of the top ad campaigns of the 21st Century by Advertising Age. At the turn of the century, when truth launched, the teen smoking rate was at 23 percent. Last month the Monitoring the Future study by the University of Michigan reported that in 2014 the rate of teen smoking had declined significantly to eight percent. With teen smoking rates at their lowest levels in 23 years, truth truly has touched many generations through its bold and innovative messaging and campaign tactics.
The truth campaign, ranked on the Ad Age list at Number 10, has a proven track record of effectiveness and has been a key contributor to the decline in youth smoking. Over the first four years of the campaign a study in the American Journal of Public Health found that there were 450,000 fewer teens to have initiated tobacco use as a direct result of the truth campaign. Another study in the Health Education Research report found that teens aware of truth are twice as likely to say they do not intend to smoke in the future.
"Following a century that was filled with advertising icons for the tobacco industry like the Marlboro Man and Joe Camel it is truly an honor to be recognized as one of the top campaigns of this century," said Robin Koval, CEO and president of Legacy®, the national public health foundation that directs and funds the truth campaign. "We are up against an industry that to this day still spends billions of dollars every year on advertising; so we must always be pushing the innovation and creativity of our programs to get our life saving message out."
Ad Age's Top 15 Ad Campaigns of the 21st Century is a ranking of the watershed moments that have set new standards for the advertising industry, pioneered new categories, catapulted brands to the top of their market, and impacted popular culture. The top 15 highlight the trends that illustrate how marketers speak to 21st Century consumers, whether it is through new digital and interactive channels, tapping into social causes, creating new products or creating unforgettable characters, songs and catchphrases. The truth campaign, which launched in 2000, is the most successful and one of the largest national youth smoking prevention campaigns in the United States.
Early truth ads like "1,200" and "Body Bags" are recognized for their guerilla style and willingness to boldly reveal the manipulative tactics of the tobacco industry. In the current evolution of truth, the campaign is reframed for the post-millennial generation to create a social movement – inviting and empowering teens and young adults to use their social footprints and influence to be the generation to end the tobacco epidemic and "Finish It" for good.
"It is unbelievably gratifying to see that 15 years of the truth campaign has steadily and consistently paid off and most importantly saved lives," said Eric Asche, chief marketing officer at Legacy. "We are extremely grateful for Ad Age's recognition and to our agency partners through the years from the beginning of truth to the present. We are fortunate to have had the most talented people in the industry work on truth throughout the life of the campaign."
When truth launched in 2000, its agencies of record were Arnold Worldwide of Boston and Crispin Porter + Bogusky of Miami. In 2014, Legacy named Los Angeles-based 72andSunny as the new agency of record.
The Top 15 Ad Campaigns of the 21st Century list was unveiled in the January 12 issue Ad Age and in an online showcase featuring video and images from the campaigns and interviews with many of their creators and members of the judging panel.
The full list of the recognized campaigns is located at: www.adage.com/topadcampaigns
ABOUT truth
truth® is the most successful and one of the largest national youth smoking prevention campaign. 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.
SOURCE The truth Campaign
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