Case Study for Agency
03-1013415-985

Situation

When we began our work on Nicorette prior to its launch in 1996, we
quickly learned that smoking and quitting are highly complex, emotional
and personal subjects.

We talked to hundreds of smokers about their smoking habit and quit
attempts. We found that smokers know the rational reason for quitting -
that it is bad for your health. But the emotional reasons for not
quitting are far stronger. Smoking is part of a smoker's identity. Most
started in adolescence and cannot remember a time when they didn't
smoke. Every day, every happy occasion, every adversity has been faced
with a cigarette in their hand.

The Insight-The Smoker's Plight

Smokers described cigarettes as their best friend, but a friend they
desperately want to part with - if only they could. The thought of the
separation is angst-ridden and fear of failure is strong - most smokers
try to quit at least 4-5 times before they are successful. Smokers said
they ceded control over their lives to cigarettes. They want to
actively participate in taking that control back and believe that it is
their own willpower and commitment to quit that will lead to success.

Strategy

Helping smokers regain control over their lives is what drove our
positioning for Nicorette.

The strategy gives the individual quitter credit for success and
positions Nicorette as an empathetic partner. We allow the smoker to be
in control of how much and when they use Nicorette: "Only Nicorette gum
helps you control your cravings and your habit your own way so you can
stop smoking".

The Campaign

The "You Can Do It. Nicorette Can Help" campaign connects with smokers
on an emotional level to match the emotionality of quitting. Our
campaign features empathetic and emotional testimonials by "real
people" telling us how they have taken back control of their own lives.

The target of potential quitters spans all demographics. However,
because smokers cannot be coerced into smoking, we identified the
target as adult smokers interested in quitting. Once a smoker begins to
contemplate a quit attempt, the action can be triggered at any place or
time. Therefore, we wanted the Nicorette message to be there when the
smoker was ready to quit.

We used television to provide broad exposure in virtually every
daypart, radio during drive-time where people crave a cigarette in
their car and print to provide a detailed educational message. We also
developed an extensive out-of-home program to surround smokers during
their daily routine, including shrink-wrapped busses, posters and
billboards. We also created special ads and programs for key quitting
milestone periods - New Year' the annual Great American Smokeout and
help found the new World No Tobacco Day.

To reach smokers on an individual basis, we created an educational
website to help smokers with advice and tips on quitting and
information about Nicorette. We also used banner advertising to
encourage people to visit the Nicorette website.

Results

Nicorette has been the number one smoking cessation product since its
launch. It a 350+ million. Nicorette is the 3rd largest OTC drug in
the U.S.