Drinking one to two glasses of white milk a day is riskier than secondhand smoke. That’s the absurd claim made by the tobacco industry being investigated in the latest TV ad in the Truth® documentary campaign, presented by the American Legacy Foundation and its partners Arnold Worldwide of Boston and Crispin Porter + Bogusky of Miami, to help prevent youth smoking.
Directed by Eddie Moretti of Vice Films, Canada, “Milk” features roving documentarian, Derrick Beckles, also of Vice, investigating the tobacco industry claim by visiting a dairy farm in upstate New York. The dairy farmer featured in the spot is shocked by the tobacco industry’s claim and assures Beckles that hazardous ingredients like benzene, arsenic and polonium-210, all ingredients added to cigarettes, are not added to milk.
In addition to the spot, a website, www.milk-off.com, will launch at the end of the month, which was created in collaboration with digital agency Cuban Council, San Francisco, to help illustrate the ridiculousness of what the tobacco industry said by challenging users to a compete in a “milkoff.” “Milkoff” is a flash animation game that requires players to pull the udders of a cow and aim the milk into buckets while fighting off stinging bees. Visitors can also send a “squirt alert” to their friends.
Users enter a message illustrated via a flash movie, squirting their words from a cow’s udder. “Squirt Alerts” can be sent to friends via e-mail. Truth® is also creating a widget to be used in social networking sites. Typing a message into the flash piece generates cut and paste embed code so that users can leave comments on their friends pages, represented in milk.
This is not the first time a viral dimension has been added to Truth®, Last fall the Infect Truth® portion of the campaign featured several distinctive interactive elements through its Web site www.thetruth.com., recognizing the popularity of digital media in teens’ lives. The “infections” consisted of downloads, mini-sites, TV spots and tobacco fact-based messages called “quickies.” Teens were also able to send e-messages written on a hairy man’s back at hairy-mail.com. (Hairy-mail.com won a Bronze at the One Show.)
Also available were daily widgets that could be downloaded to a desktop to keep users updated on new “infection” launches. And Truth® profile pages were placed on popular social networking sites such as MySpace, Hi5, Bebo and Picza.
Nicole Dorrler, director of marketing, youth prevention, American Legacy Foundation, is hopeful this campaign will follow in the footsteps of Infect Truth®, which was a success virally. In doing a scan of online traffic from October of last year to April of this year, the main truth website was averaging 150,000 visits a week (three times the average prior), coupled with the five social networking sites the campaign started having a presence on. One hundred and forty-three thousand “infections” were spread via e-mail and 100,000 “infections” were embedded into personal profiles. With the entertainment factor of a game, she believes this campaign will be as successful virally.
“We have built upon what we learned from the Infect Truth® campaign. We’re not only promoting active participation but blending it with entertainment and fact as a method of message delivery so that teens not only take the assets but make it part of their personal story,” Dorrler said.
Truth® as a brand is always reinventing itself, staying relevant and finding cost effective ways to continue. Patricia McLaughlin, senior director of communications for American Legacy, points out that the tobacco industry spends more than 36 million dollars a day in the United States alone on marketing efforts. That’s more than the Truth® budget for the year.
“The success of our initial online campaign showed us that continuing such a presence by having “Milkoff” be its own online entity offering ways for teens to engage with the tobacco facts and spread the message in a fun way that appeals to them is the right way to go,” she said.
Brad Emmett and Rob Legato Join Doner As EVPs, Exec Creative Directors
Doner, part of Stagwell, has hired Brad Emmett and Rob Legato as EVPs, executive creative directors. Their remit includes leading and strengthening Doner’s creative work, as well as fostering new client relationships. In their newly created roles, the duo will work across Doner’s full client roster, which includes a diverse portfolio of brands from Zyrtec to Hackensack Meridian Health to Stellantis.
“As an agency founded and headquartered in Detroit, we are committed to investing in top local talent. Welcoming Brad and Rob back to Doner reflects that mission,” said Doner CEO David DeMuth, who also serves as chair and CEO of the Doner Partners Network (DPN).
Emmett and Legato rejoin Doner from McCann Detroit where they led creative efforts for General Motors, including the Will Ferrell “No Way Norway” and Mike Myers “Dr. EVil” Super Bowl campaigns. Emmett and Legato also led creative efforts for brands including Alfa Romeo, JBL and U.S. Bank. Together, their work has been recognized by Cannes Lions, Webbys, One Show and the Clio Award Hall of Fame.
“I’ve grown so much from partnering with CEOs, top creative leaders, and, of course, my teams. I look forward to continuing that same spirit of collaboration back at Doner,” said Emmett. “The agency’s diverse portfolio of brands has always impressed me, and I look forward to working with the team to create new work that moves the needle for clients.”
Legato added, “Something exciting is happening around every corner at Doner, and I’ve missed that. I’m thrilled to rejoin the team as it turns the page on a new chapter in its legacy of creating groundbreaking work for brands at the intersection of Modern and Main Street.”
This news comes on the heels of... Read More