Evelyn Lilly Lutz Foundation and McCann Global Health take a different approach to typical anti-vape campaigning.

Since 2014, e-cigarettes have been the most used tobacco among U.S. youth, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Public health advocates have rung alarm bells over the rise of vaping among young people, with The Evelyn Lilly Lutz Foundation calling it a “national crisis” and “ticking time bomb.”

A new PSA from Evelyn Lilly Lutz takes a different approach to typical anti-vaping messages, by emphasizing the dangers to teenagers’ wallets rather than their health. “Ditch the Vape. Get What’s Yours,” created by agency McCann Global Health, calculates that teens spend an average of $1,000 to $1,500 annually on vaping.

The film proposes healthier alternatives to how young people can spend their money, focusing on passion points such as sneakers, drones, comic books, musical instruments, clothes and makeup. Rather than telling teens what they should give up, the campaign highlights what they could enjoy instead and draws from the experiences of real students.

The campaign’s strategy is based on research that shows “speaking to [teenagers] about health risks is not particularly effective, because they’re young and feel invincible,” Emily Carter, McCann Global Health’s vice-president and account director, told Adweek. “However, scientific evidence supports this other direction: reaching them by highlighting the opportunity costs of vaping.”

To remain authentic to teenagers’ lives, the PSA was shot at Beverly High School in Beverly, Massachusetts, with the cast entirely consisting of real students from the area.

“We wrote the script checking with teens at every interval in terms of believable language, the things they want and what would resonate with them,” explained Dov Zmood, executive creative director at McCann Global Health.

Razzing not shaming

Trying to shame or scare audiences, as many PSAs do, would be ineffective in motivating teens to drop this habit, Zmood said.

“They’re staring down issues from Covid to the mental health crisis and increased isolation. Vaping just becomes a way to take the edge off, so it’s understandable why they do it,” he observed. “Most people don’t want to be shamed into action.”

Nevertheless, the film’s protagonist, a teenage girl, speaks to viewers in a cheeky tone of voice. She tells her peers that they are allowing “cool things to slip away, like a dumbass” and, “Your vape is straight up robbing you.”

“The tonality is more razzing than shaming. That’s how teens talk to each other,” said Zmood. “It creates an intimacy and familiarity [with the audience]. This couldn’t be squeaky clean.”

Greenpoint Pictures’ Allison Swank Owen, the commercial’s director, has experience creating music videos and other content that appeals to youth. While primarily shot in live action at the school, the film is sometimes overlayed with graphics and animations “to tap into the way that teens create social content,” Zmood said. “It’s a little erratic and loud, not finessed or linear. It’s dynamic and vibrant and feels positive, too.”

The campaign will run on social platforms including Snapchat, TikTok and Instagram.

The ultimate aim, according to Carter, is to “create a model that could potentially be replicated elsewhere.” The team envisions other organizations creating similar campaigns tailored to their local communities, as they did at Beverly High “to drive personal connection,” she added.

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