BACKFIRE: TEEN ANTI-TOBACCO

A 14-year-old doesn't care if they die at 65. They want popularity...now. Most public health ads ignore this truth. They lecture kids about a future that feels like an eternity away. I pushed our client to stop talking about cancer. We started talking about social currency. Tobacco doesn't just kill you eventually. It kills your status today. It erases the moments that define who you are right now.

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I led the "BackFire" platform to weaponize this insight. We used a non-linear narrative to show life moving in reverse. We showed how one choice erases the prom and the game. We took the computers away and made the content feel raw. The result was a 19% increase in quitting intent. We earned a 70% authenticity rating from a demographic that spots a fake instantly. We proved that truth wins when you stop lecturing and start observing.

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The Results:

• 19% increase in quitting intent.

• 8% decrease in tobacco trial.

• 70% teen authenticity rating.

• 5% increase in rejecting tobacco-using peers.