2012 Winners & Shortlists

The Brief

Our client wanted To increase the awareness about the harmful effects of second-hand smoke caused by smokers who kept on smoking in Public areas where smoking is prohibited.

Describe how the promotion developed from concept to implementation

Because traditional ads proved not to be effective, we needed to come up with an unconventional idea using an unconventional medium. We needed to demonstrate to smokers what second hand smokers feel. So we came up with the “Coughing Poster”. First, smoke from cigarettes enters through a fan that funnels it to a smoke detector. This smoke detector gives the signal to a programmed amplifier that transforms the beeping alarm sound into a coughing sound. All this has been fit into a poster with an image of a coughing person on it. We placed the poster (Riyadh, Jeddah & Dammam)

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

As a result, 15,000 smokers joined the therapy sessions at NAQAA clinic after which they quit smoking within a period of 2 months. This also led to a 65% increase in visitors to the clinic compared to last year.The reaction was nothing less of utter amazement, people were discussing it on Blogs, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. It was even discussed on the major TV Stations and Programs (MBC, Saudi TV 1 & Saudi TV 2); with a consistent message mentioning how creative and innovative the idea was.

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

Because traditional ads proved not to be effective, we needed to come up with an unconventional idea using an unconventional medium. And we needed to demonstrate to smokers what second hand smokers feel.