The Campaign

A sticker was created to stop a parent who smokes from opening their cigarette pack. The sticker made use of adhesive that made it very difficult for the sticker to be removed easily, without it having to be torn or damaged. The sticker was in the shape of a simple heart, and a simple question was printed on it. BREAK THE HABIT, OR BREAK MY HEART. The heart, metaphorically, belonged to the children of the smokers, who were the ones tasked with sticking the hearts onto the packs of their parents. On each sticker was a space where they could fill out their name and address it to whichever parent smoked. Emotional blackmail at its heart ripping best.

Creative Execution

We used the children of smokers to raise the question why they still smoked? Using emotional blackmail to try and help them stop. An adhesive heart shaped sticker, designed to have to be torn from a pack to allow a smoker access to his all-consuming habit. The sticker itself was made so that to break into the pack, the heart had to be broken in two. Any child who stuck one on a pack could write their name and make it their own. Making a simple metaphor for breaking the child’s heart if the parent continued to smoke from the pack. Every parent was asked to pledge to quit. The stickers and the pledges have so far been undertaken by all Lorna Whiston schools, who have over 2,000 pupils and nearly 4,000 parents. The numbers taking up the challenge will hopefully encompass every pre-school and primary school in Singapore.

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market

The number of smokers in Singapore is one of the lowest in the world at 13.4% of the adult population. The government’s aim is to reduce it to under 10%. Worryingly, the number has remained at a constant 25% amongst the male population. These tend to be the real hardcore smokers who remain. The ones finding it hard to quit. The first Lorna Whiston school we collaborated with has over 2000 students, of which over 15% of parents are smokers. 100% of the parents who were confronted, pledged to quit. In the first 8 weeks of the campaign, 80% of them have stuck to the pledge. The programme is currently being rolled out to the rest of the schools in Singapore. As the first semester ends in May, more schools will take up the challenge in the new semester beginning in June.