A Canadian advertising agency has a message for smokers in India: cigarettes will burn you out.
Montreal agency Bleu Blanc Rouge recently launched the “Cigarettes Smoke People” campaign for the Cancer Patients Aid Association, a non-governmental organization based in Mumbai.
The campaign’s first executions show disembodied arms—a hand holding a cigarette at one end, and burning cigarette ash at the other. The ads appear in print and online, with more executions to come throughout the year.
“The Bleu Blanc Rouge concept for the Cancer Patients Aid Association is hard-hitting and it will definitely make a difference in society,” said Anita Peter, the association’s director, in a statement. “We need to create more awareness about this emerging epidemic.”
India, a nation of approximately 1.1 billion, has an estimated 120 million tobacco users according to The Washington Post. While tobacco ads and smoking in public places were banned in 2004, that number continues to grow.
The account is pro bono for the agency, which connected with CPAA through an acquaintance of Gaetan Namouric, executive vice-president and creative director. No one from the agency ever met face-to-face with the client, using only phone and e-mail communication to create the work.
“It’s just another way to work in advertising,” Namouric said. “They managed the production and media there, so we don’t know the precise usage of the campaign.”
This account is the ad agency’s first international client, but Namouric is hoping it is the start of a trend.
“We’re working on that big time. This campaign was a good business case to show that we can work with clients thousands and thousands of miles away.”
