“Using tobacco is bad for your social life.” That’s the message behind Seattle agency WongDoody’s “No Stank You” anti-tobacco campaign for the Washington State Department of Health.
“Teens today are well aware of the health effects of using tobacco “Our approach is to tell kids something different that has immediate resonance,” said Tracy Wong, WongDoody chairman and creative director, about why this yearlong effort eschews traditional anti-tobacco messaging focusing instead on the social and cosmetic consequences of smoking and tobacco use.
“The mission for the target, 12-14 teens, is to prevent them from starting. If they never start smoking, it solves a lot of problems immediately.”
Like the overall campaign The NoStankYou.com Web site also takes a unique approach to anti-tobacco advocacy–it is home to the “No Stank You NOW” video log, an online news/entertainment show hosted by local teens, for teens, on the social risks of tobacco use. The vlog features interviews with peers, state officials, dentists, professional athletes and more.
For instance, one of the hosts goes on a shopping spree to show kids all the cool stuff she can buy for $6, the price of a pack of cigarettes. Or watch another host shed light on the statistic that 86 percent of teens prefer dating a nonsmoker. New vlog episodes, produced in-house, will be uploaded regularly.
“True engagement with the target comes on the Web. Not from TV. The Web is the only way we can deep dive with them on information, etc.,” said Wong. Designed by WONGDOODY’s interactive and technology development division, United^Future, the NoStankYou.com site is also filled with irreverent, interactive and portable content. Users are given code snippets for avatars, comment images, emotions and more, to post into blogs, MySpace and YouTube pages, personal Web sites and mp3 players. A news fact page offers rotating factoids and articles about tobacco use.
“The campaign’s online component is truly exciting in the anti-tobacco advocacy arena, a category that is already recognized for its creativity,” said Wong. “By arming teens with tools to disseminate humorous content in various ways, they become advocates of the anti-tobacco message.”
The campaign also consists of television commercials, radio and online ads–including seven TV spots directed by Geordie Stephens of bicoastal Tool of North America.
A Closer Look At Proposed Measures Designed To Curb Google’s Search Monopoly
U.S. regulators are proposing aggressive measures to restore competition to the online search market after a federal judge ruled Google maintained an illegal monopoly for the last decade.
The sweeping set of recommendations filed late Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Justice could radically alter Google's business, including possibly spinning off the Chrome web browser and syndicating its search data to competitors. Even if the courts adopt the blueprint, Google isn't likely to make any significant changes until 2026 at the earliest, because of the legal system's slow-moving wheels.
Here's what it all means:
What is the Justice Department's goal?
Federal prosecutors are cracking down on Google in a case originally filed during near the end of then-President Donald Trump's first term. Officials say the main goal of these proposals is to get Google to stop leveraging its dominant search engine to illegally squelch competition and stifle innovation.
"The playing field is not level because of Google's conduct, and Google's quality reflects the ill-gotten gains of an advantage illegally acquired," the Justice Department asserted in its recommendations. "The remedy must close this gap and deprive Google of these advantages."
Not surprisingly, Google sees things much differently. The Justice Department's "wildly overbroad proposal goes miles beyond the Court's decision," Kent Walker, Google's chief legal officer, asserted in a blog post. "It would break a range of Google products — even beyond search — that people love and find helpful in their everyday lives."
It's still possible that the Justice Department could ease off on its attempts to break up Google, especially if President-elect Donald Trump... Read More