Truth (anti-tobacco campaign)
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| Product type | Youth smoking prevention public education campaign |
|---|---|
| Owner | Truth Initiative |
| Introduced | 1999 |
| Markets | United States |
| Website | thetruth.com |
Truth (stylized as truth) is a national campaign aimed at eliminating teen smoking in the United States. "truth" produces television and digital content to encourage teens to reject tobacco and to unite against the tobacco industry. When "truth" launched its campaign in 1999, the teen smoking rate was 23%. In 2016, that number was down to 6%. In August 2014, "truth" launched "Finish It", a redesigned campaign encouraging youth to be the generation that ends smoking.
The "truth" campaign was modeled after a campaign developed by the Florida Tobacco Pilot Program, which ran from 1998 to 2003.
Through their marketing campaign, the program set out to drive a wedge between the tobacco industry's advertising and a youth audience. The program not only assembled a team of advertising and public relations firms, but also collaborated with Floridian youth to develop a campaign that would effectively speak to their generation. Youth articulated their frustrations with the manipulative marketing tactics used by the tobacco industry, and described their ideal campaign as one that would give them facts and the truth about tobacco. From this emerged the concept of uniting youth in a movement against tobacco companies promoted through grassroots advocacy and a youth-driven advertising campaign.
In March 1998, student delegates at a meeting sponsored by Florida's Office of Tobacco Control voted to change the theme of the campaign to "truth, a generation united against tobacco." In April 1998, Florida launched a $25 million advertising campaign that included 33 television commercials, seven billboards, eight print ads and four posters. With a target audience of youth aged 12–17, the Florida "truth" campaign modeled their approach after commercial marketing to teens, and used messages that "attacked the [tobacco] industry and portrayed its executives as predatory, profit hungry, and manipulative." The ads re-framed tobacco as an addictive drug promoted by the adult-establishment, and tobacco control as a hip, rebellious, youth-led movement. The grassroots effort of the campaign involved real teenagers taking on the tobacco industry as part of the 13-day "Truth Train" tour across the state. Despite positive results, reduced funding for the program, among other factors, ultimately led to the demise of Florida’s "truth" campaign.
As Florida’s campaign diminished, Truth Initiative (originally the American Legacy Foundation), adopted Florida's successful strategy and converted "truth" into a national campaign. Generally consistent with Florida's campaign, Truth Initiative's version of "truth" featured hard-hitting messages highlighting the deceptive practices of tobacco companies, and stark facts about the deadly effects of tobacco.
"truth" strives to be a brand youth can identify with. In stark contrast to the heavy "life or death" tone adopted by many anti-tobacco campaigns, the strategy behind "truth" is to emphasize the facts about tobacco products and industry marketing practices, without preaching or talking down to its target audience. The resonating theme underlying "truth" is one of tobacco industry manipulation. With hard-hitting advertisements featuring youths confronting the tobacco industry, "truth" built a brand focused on empowering youth to construct positive, tobacco-free identities. Above all, the campaign avoids making directive statements telling youth not to smoke, and instead encourages them to make up their own minds about smoking and the tobacco industry. "truth" channels youths’ rebellious nature and need to assert their independence towards tobacco control efforts.
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