Smoking can only be done outside these days but that has triggered another problem – cigarette butt litter. Research by UK environmental charity, Keep Britain Tidy, showed that the number one reason UK smokers give for dropping cigarette butts is that they are unable to find a bin. Cigarette butts account for 66% of all litter in England and Keep Britain Tidy has made it a priority to tackle the issue.

So VCCP London and its digital experience agency, Bernadette are giving smokers their own bin. Giving each smoker a portable, sealable Butt Box.

To draw attention to cigarette butt litter, VCCP and Bernadette installed a special DOOH build in New Street in the centre of Birmingham. Its animation features Drake, the duck who has starred in recent Keep Britain Tidy campaigns. He quacks and taps at the screen of the D6 display when smokers approach and when he has caught smokers’ attention, he points to a button that delivers a Butt Box. A campaign film has been produced to run in Keep Britain Today’s social media accounts to spread the word about butt litter across the UK.  

The campaign is built on insights showing that many people who smoke do not consider cigarette butts to be litter and is part of an ongoing integrated campaign, Cigarette Butts are Rubbish, from Keep Britain Tidy and VCCP that includes the recent TVC, Mexican Standoff. The campaign takes a behavioural science approach to littering, relying on research carried out with smokers by Cowry Consulting and VCCP Stoke and uses humour to engage with audiences.

Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, CEO of Keep Britain Tidy, commented, “Cigarette butts are the country’s – and the world’s – most widespread litter problem with billions being thrown on the ground or dropped down drains every year. As a charity, we are always looking for new and innovative ways to engage the public and encourage them to do the right thing when it comes to litter and that is why we are so excited to see how the public reacts to our latest campaign.

“We know that smokers need a solution for those times when they have finished a cigarette but there is no bin nearby. A portable ashtray is the perfect solution and we want to see it become the norm for everyone who smokes to carry one.”

Frances Leach, creative director at VCCP, added, “Cigarette butts are, quite frankly, rubbish. In fact we drop more pesky butts in the streets than any other item. So Keep Britain Tidy are distributing personal ashtrays to get people to box their butts rather than ditching them on the pavement. It’s such a neat solution, we needed to get people using them.

“We’re not here to tell anyone off, as this is just going to alienate our audience, so we felt the best way to tell people about our Butt Box and show it in action was humour. So Drake, our campaign mascot, is back. And this time he’s here to offer people who smoke an easy solution to avoid dropping their cigarette butts and ensure streets are cleaner and there are fewer angry ducks waddling about the place.”

Credits
Client: Keep Britain Tidy
Client Team: Lucy Hatton, John Egan, Katharine Ellicott, Liz Tarney & Claudia McIntyre

Advertising Agency: VCCP
Executive Creative Director: Jim Thornton
Creative Director: Frances Leach
Senior Creatives: Tom Lee & Vicky David 
Managing Director: Julian Douglas 
Senior Account Director: Harriet Pinnington
Senior Account Manager: Alice Stubbings
Group Planning Director: Andrew Perkins
Planning Director: Shannon Singh

Production Company: Girl&Bear 
Senior Integrated Creative Producers: Tunde Adeniyi & Sally Pendleton
Integrated Creative Producer: Emily Dunn

Digital Experience Agency: Bernadette
Creative Director: Jon Bancroft
Interactive Digital Designer: Linas Jovaisas
Project Manager: Nayef (Nay) Hassan