A new campaign aiming to change the behaviour and attitudes of smokers is to be launched by NHS Birmingham East and North, created by social marketing consultancy Dr F

The campaign is aimed at resistant and hardened smokers from deprived areas and looks to encourage them to think about giving up smoking, but also acknowledges that it is a tough fight.

The ‘Fight Back’ campaign is the first initiative in a long term programme of activities and will use advertising, PR, and experiential marketing as well as a 60 second film created by celebrity photographer Rankin which will be shown on a mobile exhibition unit. The ad was co-directed by Chris Cottam.

Joanna Mawtus, creative director at Dr Foster, said: “People have been seeing stop smoking ads all their lives and everyone knows it’s bad for them. It’s old news.

Unless we give people a new perspective on it, they’re not going to take any notice. We think this idea does that. In testing, people thought the images they were being confronted with were hard hitting, but also acknowledged that it’s what they need to see in order to change.  They’re quite shocking, but then so is the damage smoking causes.”

NHS Birmingham East and North is aiming to reach every single one of the target smokers at least six times during the two month campaign period.  

In order to do so, it is looking to make the campaign message highly visible in the target areas, with 6 sheet posters in high footfall places including shopping centres and supermarkets; mobile ad vans displaying 48 sheet posters on match weekends at Birmingham City and Aston Villa football grounds; local PR across press, radio and TV; information (posters and leaflets) distributed within all pharmacies within the patch, and an on-street marketing recruitment campaign which will include posters and leaflets distributed in up to 900 local venues (betting shops, fast food outlets, leisure centres, cafes, newsagents),and  a mobile exhibition unit where people can test their carbon monoxide levels and lung age, get information about the Pharmacy Service and book appointments, as well as pick up a ‘thumb war’ giveaway.