Anti-Smoking Campaign Sparks Huge Response
A controversial anti-smoking campaign run by the British Heart Foundation has struck a chord with the nation’s smokers by achieving 94% penetration.
The campaign, featuring images of clogged arteries and fat dripping from cigarettes, caused outrage among some, but was cleared of being distasteful by Ofcom last month, despite complaints from more than sixty viewers (see Ofcom Clears Hard Hitting Anti-Smoking Campaign).
An independent evaluation of the campaign by Hall and Partners revealed that 94% of smokers recognised at least one element of the Give Up Before You Clog Up campaign, while the controversial ‘dripping fat cigarette’ commercial was remembered by 90% of those surveyed.
Commenting on the results, Betty McBride, director of marketing and communications at the BHF said: “These results show our advert has penetrated the public consciousness and successfully raised awareness of the link between smoking and heart disease. It has left an indelible imprint on many smokers’ memories, so that every time they pick up a cigarette, they think of our advert and remember the damage that cigarette can do to their arteries.”
The campaign, which encompassed television, newspaper, poster and online advertising, has been running since January and will continue to run until 2007 with the Department of Health footing the £7.5 million bill.
Helen Westwell, strategic and creative development director of Hall and Partners said: “The 94% recognition figure is startling. In our history, we have never seen any advert cut through so strongly. When you consider that the TV ads only ran for one month, this is all the more amazing.”
Following the campaign the British Heart Foundation’s smoking helpline took more than 12,000 calls, while the organisation’s website saw a 95% increase in visitors compared with the previous month.
The British Heart Foundation has a history of running controversial advertising campaigns. According to results from the Advertising Standards Authority, an advert for the BHF, featuring a woman with a plastic bag over her head, was the most complained about ad during 2002. The ASA recorded a record 13,959 complaints over non-broadcast advertisements during that year, a year on year increase of 10.8% (see Complaints Against Advertising Reach Record High).
The increase in complaints over controversial ads suggests that all publicity really is good publicity and it has been alleged that some advertisers are actively flouting ASA guidelines in order to gain column inches (see Feature: Ads That Flout Guidelines Grab The Headlines).
ASA: 020 7580 5555 www.asa.org.uk BHF: 020 7935 0185www.bhf.org.uk
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