Never underestimate the power of a good idea. It will stick in your head for years. It will push itself to the forefront among other ideas. And when the right people see it and believe in its potential, they will jump on your bandwagon. I came up with the idea for “Secondhand Smoke, Secondhand Rose”, 17 years ago working on the Michigan Department of Community Health account at Brogan.

At the time, we were doing some TV spots, so radio wasn’t in the budget and YouTube did not exist. But the tune, “Secondhand Rose,” (which is in public domain) and my rewrite of the words had a sticking factor. And the tune stuck in my head for years. So recently when I heard MDCH needed a radio spot about secondhand smoke for parents of young children, I remembered that idea from long ago. Of course, the original script was gone, considering it was written on one of the first Macs! But I recreated it. And I couldn’t have scripted what happened next better. Our wonderful clients at MDCH, Kelly Niebel and Jason Holben, let us produce it as both a radio spot and a YouTube video (the latter has over 4,000 hits just after a couple weeks). Serendipitously, we found the perfect talent shooting another spot for STEM awareness. We called in favors to make it amazing and stay in budget. But the icing on the cake: powerful results. The calls to the Michigan Tobacco Quit Line were so dramatic, one of our clients exclaimed she “almost fell out of my chair.” So that great idea you have, it can happen. It just may need a little longer incubation period. What do you think of our “Secondhand Smoke, Secondhand Rose” spot for the Michigan Department of Community Health? I'm glad it stuck in my head all those years!

By now, we've all seen a lot of H1N1 ads. But are they working? Our client, Michigan Department of Community Health, decided to go straight to the target audience - minority populations of African Americans, Arab Americans and Hispanics who have NOT received the vaccine - with focus groups to understand WHY NOT.  The problem? They simply don't trust it.  Respondents said it was "rushed into circulation", "pushed by the government", and is "unsafe", "untested and experimental," and "unproven." Of course, all misperceptions and untruths, as the vaccine is the safest, most effective way to prevent the flu. We know that trust is a critical component of the healthcare marketing equation -- and that we had to overcome this basic feeling of mistrust. Since the majority of respondents said their doctor would be the single person they would trust the most about whether or not to get the H1N1 vaccine, we encouraged action through this open door. Even though we know 61% if adults search online for health information and 81% of Internet users search online for health information (Pew Research Center), we bravely persevered with what research told us is the most effective call to action: TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR.

The print ad is straightforward. Designed to help people make a list of questions to ask their doctor about seasonal flu and H1N1. I think its simplicity and utilize are unexpected -- and will break through the clutter.

Kudos to MDCH for their research-savvy approach. We'll keep you posted as this just started running.  Let us know what you think!

Okay, I cannot do a blog series on creative social marketing without giving some props to our client, the Michigan Department of Community Health. For over 20 years, we’ve been partners in creating some of the most memorable ad campaigns in the state. One of our agency favorites, is “I smoke when I’m coloring.” Research showed the best way to get adults to quit smoking was to do it through their kids. This campaign swept award shows, lit up the quit line call center and was so successful other states were calling in for it.  We even heard that the commercial inspired Whoopi Goldberg to quit smoking. Leo Burnett once said, “There is no such thing as a great advertising agency. There are, however, a few great clients.”  MDCH is a great one (thanks for being great partners, guys), and we’re not blowing smoke.



This blog post is #18 in the series, 21 creative social marketing examples.

I have been trying to put out cigarettes for twenty years. No need to send me Chantix, as I am not nor ever was a smoker. But my advertising career began baptism by fire helping our agency pitch the Michigan Department of Community Health. We have done a lot of great anti-smoking creative over the years, so I am an aficionado on the subject. Of course, for years "the truth" campaign has been powerful. I loved crazyworld and how it turns common sense upside down to show just how crazy our government and society is when it comes to big tobacco versus how they regulate other things. So initially, I was going to blog about that campaign. To be honest, I wasn’t as big of fan of the new truth tv spots, which are very focused on the big tobacco executives.  But as I delved into the microsite, I learned the TV was the result of an elaborate social experiment, where they had a fake job recruiter interview real candidates. Of course, when they learn part of their job is killing 17% of the world’s population, pleading the 5th and poisoning their customers, they are not so into the job. Brutal truth but also very informative and entertaining. And if you do smoke, try Chantix. It worked for my brother who smoked a pack a day since junior high.

This blog post is #6 in my series, 21 creative social marketing campaigns.