Cigarette butts still account for 66% of all litter in England. UK independent environmental charity, Keep Britain Tidy, and VCCP London are hoping to bring that statistic down. The campaign is based on research carried out with smokers by Cowry Consulting and VCCP Stoke which revealed that smokers believe littering was a negative behaviour, they don’t see their cigarette butts as rubbish.
Research and a behavioural literature review also made clear that shaming smokers would result in them switching off to any instruction. It was therefore important to find a way to modify smokers’ behaviour without alienating them. Humour and empathy are proven to be excellent tools to encourage people to dispose of their rubbish correctly. Added to this it was key to campaign success that the messenger chosen to deliver the news was likeable and able to cast judgement while provoking the right emotional response.
The resulting campaign features a duck who acts as a silent observer, pointing out in a non-confrontational way point how smokers wouldn’t dream of littering crisp packets or water bottles, so why on earth would they litter a cigarette butt?
Jim Thornton, executive creative director at VCCP, added, “As a smoker who believed that littering was anti-social but ciggy butts didn’t count, I am the man in this campaign. (Not literally, obviously. I have more hair….) But I’m proud to say I have been suitably reformed by the smartness, wittiness and weirdness of Sophie and Miles’ brains, the deftness of Andy Mcleod’s direction… and a terrifyingly judge-y duck. If this campaign doesn’t work, I will literally eat my fag butts.”
Wavemaker UK is responsible for all media planning and buying for the campaign. Media activations will appear on high-profile AV launch spots across England, Wales, and Scotland to ensure the core message reaches and lands with its target audience. This will include a takeover at the O2 in London and mural in Manchester, supported by targeted out-of-home (OOH) in high indexing locations as well as audio, podcast sponsorship, social, and activations such as unlocking ad-free content on streaming services and in-game advertising.
The accompanying PR campaign by Good Relations, features a mound of rubbish representing 225,000 butts installed on Kingston High Street.
Alison Ogden-Newton of Keep Britain Tidy, stated, “We wanted to create advertising that used best in class behavioural science to really speak to our audience, and we are thrilled with the output. Our charming feathered friend delivers an important message to smokers, who do not realise the devastating impact that their litter has on our environment. We are thrilled with the campaign and believe it will have a real impact on what is currently the UK’s most littered item, cigarette butts.”
Raphy March, chief design & innovation officer at Cowry Consulting, commented, “By pioneering new research techniques to measure the gap between conscious thought and unconscious actions we have created a campaign which is infused with behavioural science learnings and speaks to smokers in a completely different way. By unlocking these hidden insights we’re confident that we can prompt smokers to reassess their behaviours and stop dropping cigarette butts.”
The campaign will run until December 18, with a second phase from February 5 until March 11.
Credits:
Advertising Agency: VCCP
Creative Directors: Jim Thornton
Associate Creative Director: Sophie Knox
Associate Creative Director: Miles Carter
Business Director: Max Fabian
Senior Account Director: Harriet Pinnington
Account Managers: Percy Fagent, Isobel Thorley
Group Planning Director: Andrew Perkins
Planning Director: Shannon Singh
Agency Creative Producers: Chiara Trecchi, Emily Dunn
Production Company: Rattling Stick
Director: Andy McLeod
Executive Producer & Producer: Stuart Bentham
Client: Keep Britain Tidy
Marketing Lead: Lucy Hatton
Project Director: John Egan
Media: Wavemaker UK
Managing Partner: Oli Halliwell
Planning Lead: Charlotte Jeffries
Planning Director: John Cousins
