With its back to society

Tobacco prevention The Federal Office of Public Health and the creative agency By Heart give smokers (no) face Around two million Swiss people knowingly consume toxic substances such as arsenic, formaldehyde and lead every day. With alarming facts and a new By Heart campaign, the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) is launching another round of tobacco prevention. "I don't think anyone would eat a chocolate bar that contains over 40 carcinogenic substances," says By Heart CD Hans Siegwart. On the other hand, the otherwise critical consumer tacitly approves of toxic ingredients in cigarettes. The creative team wanted to dramatize this schizophrenia in the new appearance and portrayed "real" smokers. However, they turn their backs on the viewer. According to the CD, the unusual look is intended to make it clear that hardly any smokers are proud of their addiction. According to the FOPH, 53% of all smokers want to give up their vice, but only one in twenty people succeed in quitting permanently.
The three TV commercials and advertisements were launched at the end of May and promptly received a response from the tobacco industry. Cigarette multinational Philip Morris (PM), for example, placed a full-page text advertisement in the NZZ. The title of the ad: "Is it possible to produce a less harmful cigarette?" In it, the tobacco manufacturer asserts its efforts in the search for less harmful ingredients and advises consumers to "give up smoking or not start in the first place." Apparently, PM shares Siegwart's view that the cigarette would hardly be approved as a new product today.
Provoked reactions from Philip Morris: BAG complaint.

Simone Keller