"Bob and Martin" Smoking Cessation Campaign

Background

Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death and illness in Canada and is the most pressing public health concern in our country. Over the last 35 years, smoking among Canadians has dropped from 50% to approximately 20% (Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey 2005) of the population aged 15 and older.

In April 2001, the Federal Tobacco Control Strategy (FTCS) received an investment of $560 million over five years of which Health Canada’s Tobacco Control Program (TCP) received $480 million. The Tobacco Control Programme has an overall mission to reduce disease and death caused by the use of tobacco through the following strategic directions for the next decade:

Protection: reducing the number of Canadians who are involuntarily exposed to second-hand smoke in enclosed areas

Cessation: supporting and encouraging smokers to quit;

Prevention: preventing young people from taking up smoking;

Harm Reduction: explore ways to mandate changes to tobacco products to reduce hazards to health

In order to achieve their mission, and in support of their strategic direction, the following five objectives have been established:

• Reduce the number of people who smoke from 25% to 20%.



• Decrease the number of cigarettes sold in Canada by 30%.



• Increase retailer compliance with youth access laws from 69% to 80%.



• Reduce the number of people involuntarily exposed to environmental second-hand smoke (SHS).



• Exploring ways to mandate harm reduction in products.

In 2002/03, Health Canada launched second-hand smoke (SHS) home, workplace and youth campaigns in support of TCP program initiatives to reduce exposure to second-hand smoke in the home, workplace and with youth. These campaigns convey the message that exposure to SHS is dangerous, and the need for smoke-free spaces.

Research in jurisdictions like California revealed that SHS mass media campaigns are an effective lead-in to cessation. This data provided a natural lead-in for a national cessation campaign for mainstream Canadians in January, 2003.

Campaign Description

The cessation campaign launched in January of 2003, targeting smokers aged 40-54 in support of TCP cessation initiatives to encourage and support quitting smoking. The cessation campaign uses characters, Bob (English) and Martin (French), to portray common challenges of quitting. The campaign is based on the Prochaska theory of behavioural change and uses positive and encouraging messages to bring smokers from contemplation, preparation, action, to the maintenance stage. The campaign follows “Bob” and “Martin” through the stages involved in the quitting process. The central messages are that quitting smoking may be difficult, but it is possible and it is worth it. It also focuses on the importance of developing a quit plan.

Through a series of eight 30 sec television ads and an internet microsite, “Bob” engages the target audience with experiences the audience can relate to and encourages them to take action towards quitting cessation. Each ad ends with a clear call-to-action directing people to call 1 800 O-Canada or visit the gosmokefree.ca web site to access cessation resources developed by Health Canada’s Tobacco Control Program.

Supporting media used in the campaign included: TV network partnerships, billboards, dailies, newspapers, Reader’s Digest collaboration and print ad which included a mailing to physicians, Google keyword buys, localized print advertising and regionalized TV advertising to promote specific quitlines.

Also in 2005, to kick off National Non-Smoking Week (January 16-22), Health Canada and a national retail pharmacy teamed up to help smokers quit. Included in this initiative was a display of Health Canada pamphlets and posters on how to quit. Smokers interested in quitting were directed to a pharmacist to receive advice. Previous research had indicated that pharmacists are a trusted source of information on quitting.

Research Monitoring and Evaluation

The Bob/Martin campaign has proven to be one of Health Canada’s most successful social marketing campaigns. From the launch in January 2003 to March 2005, the campaign has driven over 30,000 calls to the 1 800 O-Canada toll free line. There has been a strong affiliation between having the TV ads on air and calls to the toll free line and web activity. Since the beginning of the campaign over 180,000 copies of On the Road to Quitting have been distributed. There have been close to 240,000 visits to the Bob and Martin microsite where almost 90,000 users have created profiles to receive support through an electronic version of On the Road to quitting and over 33,000 registrations for e-quit, where free daily quitting messages are received.

When the campaign aired in 2003/4, ad recall for the Bob/Martin ads was extremely high. Aided re-call for the “Plan” ad was highest at 60%. The “Blip” ad was considered by the greatest proportion of those surveyed to be effective (74%) and believable (86%). Thoughts about quitting increased throughout the campaign by almost 10%, with the later ads perhaps benefiting from the picture painted with the help of the earlier ads. Five of the ads were re-aired from January to March, 2005. While recall for each individual ad was lower than the previous year, seven out of ten adult smokers still saw one or more of the Bob/Martin campaign. Twenty three percent of those that saw the ad said that they did something as a result of seeing the ad and a further 20% said that they planned on doing something because of the ad. Sixty eight percent of those that saw the one or more of the Bob/Martin campaign say they are now seriously thinking of quitting smoking versus 55% who did not see any of the ads.