Bob and Martin Quit Smoking

“Bob and Martin Quit Smoking” was an advertising campaign from Health Canada, based on Prochaska’s stages of change theory. During the campaign, the proportion of Canadians aged 40-54 who smoked declined from 25% to 21%. In addition, per capita (age 15+) cigarette consumption fell by 7%, and overall prevalence reached an all-time low.

This advertising campaign from Health Canada significantly reduced smoking. The program targeted those who were most likely to quit, recent quitters who wanted to remain smoke-free, and key influencers (health professionals and pharmacists)

Television ads featured an engaging, everyday Canadian character, “Bob” (Martin in French). The campaign followed him through the stages involved in the quitting process) and directly countered advertising from the tobacco companies. The central messages were that, quitting smoking may be difficult but it is possible, and it is worth it. The campaign also focused on the importance of developing a quit plan.

The campaign segmented these ads by stage of change, based on surveys and Prochaska’s theory of staged change. It created two TV ads for each stage of change, to resonate best with people at that stage. There were two ads for the contemplation stage, two for preparation, two for action, and two for maintenance. One of the two maintenance ads focused on the issue of relapse.The ads ran sequentially over 14 months, with a focus on key periods for quit attempts.

The cessation campaign used Ads were aired during key periods for quit attempts as identified through consultations with the NGOs. They were aired sequentially over a 14-month period (Mass Media; Building Motivation Over Time).

The ads had a call-to-action asking the viewer to call 1 800 O-Canada (the federal government’s central 1 800 number for all of its services and resources) or to visit Health Canada’s website to get help on how to quit smoking.

In addition, a partnership with Walmart directly countered in-store advertising by the tobacco companies.

The percentage of Canadians aged 40-54 who smoked declined from 25% in 2001 to 21% in 2004. Per capita (age 15+) cigarette consumption fell by 7% in 2003. By 2004, prevalence reached an all-time low of 20%.

Access this case study on the Tools of Change website at www.toolsofchange.com/

Canada

Cigarette, Prochaska, Quit, Segmentation, Smoking, Television ads, Tobacco,