A concept from five students at Rhode Island’s Woonsocket High School provided the premise for this anti-smoking spot from agency RDW Group, Providence, for its client Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Rhode Island.
The :30 features an attractive teen girl talking animatedly on the phone. Seated on a lawn chair, she’s wearing a one-piece bathing suit and gabbing away. After painting her toenails, she lights a cigarette and continues her telephone conversation. But her body starts to deteriorate before our eyes. With each puff of the cigarette, spider veins, tumors and ulcerous lesions appear on her arms, legs and face.
A supered message starkly inquires, "What if smoking did to you on the outside / what it does to you inside?"
The high school students who came up with the initial creative were Sean Reynolds, Kate Horne, Matthew Shorter, Matthew Morrow and Ian Dalpe. They worked with a professional creative team from RDW Group: executive creative director Jeff Patch, art director Jeff Dahlberg, copywriter Wendy Boffi and producer Zeke Bowman.
The spot was directed by Eric E. Fitzpatrick, an independent helmer based in Southern California. Fitzpatrick is no stranger to "The Best Work You May Never See" gallery, as his earlier spec work has twice made the SHOOT showcase.
Fitzpatrick directed the project via production house Kilowatt Films, Boston, which represents him in the New England market. Kim Daniels and Glenn Chalek served as executive producer and producer, respectively, for Kilowatt. The spot was shot by DP Mark Moran.
Offline/online editor was Larry Andersen of Spot, Boston. Rob Leaton of National Boston Video, Boston, was the colorist. Audio mixer was Tom Love of Rumblestrip, Boston. Sound designers were Stephen Dewey and Chris Smith of Machine Head, Venice, Calif.
The winning concept was chosen from more than 150 entries submitted by middle- and high school students throughout Rhode Island. The contest was started to address the fact that kids don’t often respond to messages from adults—so, instead, the tactic was to garner messages from youths that would hopefully ring true with their peers.
