The Brief

Find a way of reaching smokers who have grown weary of traditional anti-smoking messages and convince them to quit.

Describe how the promotion developed from concept to implementation

We had to find a new, fresh way of reaching them, so we decided to borrow from the well-known Chinese tradition of burning precious items made of paper for the dead. We created a never before seen product: new lungs. We deliberately placed them in store during the Qing Ming period (when people buy these paper offerings to burn for their dead relatives). These reminded smokers of how precious their lungs were, and included a message that urged them to quit so they could enjoy healthier, renewed lungs in this life, and not the next.

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

In the 2-week period around Qing Ming, an average of 412 people per shop enquired about our paper lungs and got the message. 20% increase in the number of calls to Quitline.

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

During Qing Ming, it's a time when people think about giving their dead relatives the best afterlife. By placing the lungs in store, we wanted people to start thinking of healthy lungs as an essential requirement to living the good life, and relate it back to how smoking affects their quality of life negatively. This culturally and emotionally relevant message convinced smokers of the need to quit to enjoy their lives now, rather than much, much later.