The American Legacy Foundation was funded out of the tobacco industry’s $206 billion settlement with 46 states, and it used that money to stick two fingers in the eyes of cigarette marketers. Following a pair of ads in the 2001 game (“Electrolarynx,” “46 Years Old”), American Legacy returned to give its Truth campaign a Super Bowl debut with this spot and “Squadron.”
Both 30-second spots by Arnold Worldwide used guerilla-style footage and the tagline “Knowledge is contagious,” a contrast with Philip Morris’s more middle-of-the-road campaign against teen smoking (“Kids’ Friends” in the same game and “Baseball” in the 2003 Super Bowl). They were directed by Arnold Group Creative Director Pete Favat, who said clients like knowing a member of their agency team was also behind the camera:
“They know I’m going to put everything I’ve got into it,” he told Ad Age before the game, “and we’re going to keep the costs down.”
According to a survey commissioned by the American Legacy Foundation and published in the American Journal of Public Health’s June 2002 issue, the Truth campaign raised teens’ awareness of smoking’s negative effects while Philip Morris’s campaign actually ginned up interest.
BRAND: Truth
YEAR: 2002
AGENCY: Arnold Worldwide
SUPERBOWL: XXXVI
