Agency Shines in Video Advocacy Category with FDA Tobacco Prevention Campaign
Los Angeles, CA (November 29, 2017)— Sensis, a cross-cultural marketing agency driving behavior change, won the Gold Award in the “Video Campaign of the Year, Advocacy” category of the 2017 Healthcare Marketing IMPACT Awards, for its “Smokeless Doesn't Mean Harmless” campaign on behalf of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products.
The Healthcare Marketing IMPACT Awards, presented by Modern Healthcare and Advertising Age, recognize the best in healthcare advertising, marketing, promotion and communication campaigns across all types of media platforms.
Sensis and the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products launched the first-ever national campaign targeting smokeless tobacco use in 2016. The campaign targeted those most vulnerable to initiation of use: white male youth living in rural areas. The campaign’s goals were to educate youth about the dangers of smokeless tobacco use and to encourage them to rethink their relationship with the product. The ads were featured in 48 TV markets in rural areas, and geo-targeted on digital and social media channels.
Sensis produced five television spots featuring various narratives about smokeless tobacco and rural teens. One of the most impactful videos was the “Jeans” ad, a spot featuring the real-life story of Gruen Von Behrens. An avid baseball player, Von Behrens began using smokeless tobacco at age 13. By age 17, he was diagnosed with mouth cancer. Shortly after the video was produced, Von Behrens died at 38 years old. His story has been shown to millions of teens, as a dangerous account of the serious health risks of smokeless tobacco usage.
The campaign has reached nearly 60 million video views on social media.
The Healthcare Marketing IMPACT Awards winners were profiled in the Nov. 6 issue of Modern Healthcare magazine and online.
“We are delighted to be recognized for this important health advocacy work and are proud to have participated in a campaign to educate the public about the dangers of smokeless tobacco,” said Sensis President and Chief Strategy Officer Jose Villa.
In addition to being published in Modern Healthcare magazine, the winners attended the 4th Annual Healthcare Marketing IMPACT Awards Dinner.