The California Department of Health has named San Francisco-based Duncan Channon as the lead creative and media agency for a new $40 million opioid education campaign.
The two-year contract was decided after an RFP process initiated by the state in October that called for a California agency with no conflicts of interest, including work with tobacco, e-cigarette, cannabis or pharmaceutical companies.
The campaign comes as fentanyl-related deaths have surged in the last few years, more than tripling among Californians aged 20-34 between 2018 and 2020. The $40 million allotment is part of $45.8 million allocated to the state’s Opioid Settlements Fund State Operations, which consists of settlement money from litigation with companies accused of contributing to the opioid crisis including McKinsey, Janssen Pharmaceuticals (owned by Johnson & Johnson), McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen.