AMV Draws Breath for Cancer Research

Cancer Research UK [CRUK] has launched a new campaign through AMV BBDO London. Called The Breath Test, it is a new outdoor, experiential, social, guerrilla, press and radio campaign that aims to promote the effectiveness of local Stop Smoking Services to smokers who’d like to quit.

One element of the campaign is a bespoke digital poster that uses breath to reveal a message on screen; the longer people blow, the more of the ad is revealed. The idea was activated in partnership with Clear Channel, Grand Visual and MediaCom UK. It aims to highlight the link between smoking and diminished lung capacity, encouraging smokers to seek the help they need to quit for good.

Other executions include posters at bus stops and in shopping centres that invite passers-by to take a deep breath and read the text on them aloud, in one go, without stopping. The visual style mimics the typography and graphic design of a cigarette pack health warning.

The campaign is also translated into a Facebook execution, allowing people to play along on their phone. The radio ad hears an actual smoker try to perform the whole ad in one breath. The guerrilla executions interrupt smokers with the message in places they’d likely run out of breath – with bespoke ads for football stadiums, dog bins and parks, churches and even condoms.

The three week-long campaign uses the breath game to engage smokers in a variety of places, helping deliver our message that local Stop Smoking Services gives them the best chance of quitting for good.