THE REAL COST — Josh Robertson

CLIENT: "THE REAL COST" ANTI-TOBACCO CAMPAIGN, USFDA
MISSION: EDUCATE AND ENGAGE TEENS THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA

With The Real Cost, the FDA's anti-smoking campaign, I've been using social media to reach teens who don't smoke—yet. But what teen hasn't already heard that they shouldn't smoke? It's tough to present this in a way that won't be ignored. With some research, some restrained design, and some precise writing, you can meet your audience in a relatable way. After a few months on the combustibles (cigarette) campaign, we were awarded the smokeless campaign as well. The smokeless tobacco -- specifically "dip" (or "snuff" if you're really old) -- campaign involves taking the message to rural male teens.
PLATFORM: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, YouTube. AGENCY: Mediabrands Society. ART: Herbert Lacsina, Diana Chao, Jennifer Vu, Damian Wilkinson, Brooks Hess, Ryan Hamsher, Michelle Mruk, Alex Krokus, Dan McCool.

Lava Rock or Lungs?

With this post, seen here as it appeared on Tumblr, I tapped into the “Chihuahua or Muffin” meme. The post received paid boost, but the gaudy numbers reflect likes and reblogs -- completely voluntary actions by users. Of the 27,110 notes on the post, 8,128 represent reblogs. Money can put your post in front of eyeballs, but if the post isn’t compelling it won’t be shared by users.

Flaming Art: Lungs

Croatian artist Dino Tomic’s gunpowder art has become an Instagram phenomenon. But could a U.S. government agency entrust a creator across the pond to deliver DIY content that gets the message right? Actually, yes. It looks like authentic viral social content — because it is. The videos Tomic created for The Real Cost constitute the campaign’s top-performing video territory on Facebook in terms of minutes viewed and total number of plays.

Hey Buddy

Our target at-risk teens were identified as a smart, but disaffected bunch. They like cartoons, but not the feel-good kind. I collaborated with our in-house animator to develop Mr. Buttz, a naggy, bullying “friend” who won’t leave you alone. This series of posts exceeded campaign benchmarks in reach (2x) and engagement (3x).

The Horror

Knowing our target teen is a fan of dark entertainment, I came up with some horror-movie concepts, then let our horror-junkie designer go wild with them. This territory performed at 3x campaign benchmark for engagement and twice the benchmark for reach.

Two Truths and a Lie

Research told us that teens are fond of the ice-breaking game called “Two Truths and a Lie.” It was a no-brainer to juxtapose a comical lie with two unpleasant truths about smoking. This series of posts was a high performer across all platforms, and this post in particular proved to be a monster on Tumblr, where it racked up over 50,000 notes, including 13,946 reblogs.

Body Facts: Organs

The Real Cost wanted to deliver a message that was simple and fact-based — even repetitive. I devised this territory to surprise viewers with a very literal depiction of an unpleasant fact. This animation is The Real Cost’s most-watched video on Instagram.

Oddly Unsatisfying: Pets

Many teens are obsessed with videos of slime, paint, or ink in a fish tank, praising the clips as satisfying or oddly satisfying. In a series of “Oddly Unsatisfying” videos, I scripted sequences that would seem visually pleasing at first, only to deliver an unpleasant message about tobacco at the end. This post ranks in the top 5 of Real Cost videos both in minutes watched and total views on Facebook.

Secondhand smoke causes the death of more than 40,000 non-smoking adults in the U.S. each year. #TheRealCost #Smoking #Cigarettes #Cigarette #Cigs #Smoke #Tobacco

When your audience resists the message, that’s an opportunity to engage. Even non-smoking teens tell us that smoking is a matter of “choice” and that smokers are “only hurting themselves.” I crafted scripts to rebut these ideas in an amusing way.

Secret Message

Rural male teens are hunters and fishers, so a camouflage pattern is a familiar canvas to play with. By hiding facts about dip in the camouflage, I created a gamified post that delivered remarkable results. The targeted teens were not only reading The Real Cost’s health warning, but unwittingly helping to spread it by posting the solution in the comments. This interactivity pushed the narrowly-targeted camouflage posts to score triple the average comments for Real Cost Instagram posts.

Have a Good Summer

With this series of posts, I tapped into familiar rural imagery — the roadside signs of schools, gas stations and BBQ joints. This territory took off on Instagram, setting new highs for likes among static posts.

Don't Judge Me

Generally speaking, cat pictures are the engine that drives social media — but The Real Cost’s rural male audience are dog people through and through. I created simple, meme-style posts of dogs showing concern about the harmful effects of dip, and scored an early success by setting new high marks for reach and engagement on The Real Cost’s Facebook page.

Secondhand smoke causes the death of more than 40,000 non-smoking adults in the U.S. each year. #TheRealCost #Smoking #Cigarettes #Cigarette #Cigs #Smoke #Tobacco

CLIENT: "THE REAL COST" ANTI-TOBACCO CAMPAIGN, USFDAMISSION: EDUCATE AND ENGAGE TEENS THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA

CLIENT: "THE REAL COST" ANTI-TOBACCO CAMPAIGN, USFDA
MISSION: EDUCATE AND ENGAGE TEENS THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA