'Big Tobacco's Fantasyland' Debunked by California Tobacco Prevention Program

The California Tobacco Prevention Program is putting Big Tobacco on blast, noting the industry is living in a “Fantasyland” for downplaying the harm that vaping inflicts on bodies.

“Big Tobacco’s Fantasyland” is a statewide OOH and TV campaign that debunks the misinformation pushed by the tobacco industry around vaping. Namely, that it is a safer alternative to cigarette smoking.

Outdoor ads from Duncan Channon get right to the point. “In Big Tobacco’s Fantasyland, vaping nicotine is soothing. If soothing means amplifying anxiety and depression” reads one ad. Another notes that “vaping is anti-aging because you’re more likely to die younger from a stroke.”

A TV spot, directed by Emmanuel Adjei, opens with to of Chopin’s “Nocturne Op.9, No.2.” It presents a dreamlike hotel check-in scenario, centered around a high-end vape pen, and slams the cig industry in no uncertain terms.

Duncan Channon has been working with the CTPP since 2014. This brief aims to “expose the tobacco industry’s current subversive, manipulative, and deceitful strategies to prey on Californians and make it clear that their solution is no solution,” per the agency.

Ads target 18- to 54-year-olds with an emphasis on parents and young adults. They are running in high traffic areas that include California landmarks like the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Sofi Stadium and Golden 1 Center.

“When looking at Big Tobacco’s shameless attempt at rebranding themselves as champions of public health, we couldn’t shake the feeling that they are living in a completely different reality,” an agency spokesperson tells Muse. “It was this bizarro reality that we wanted to bring to life. We thought, ‘OK let’s go directly into this world they are trying to create and expose it as the dangerous place it is.”

CREDITS

AGENCY: DUNCAN CHANNON
Creative
ECD/Creative Director: Anne Elisco-Lemme
Sr. Writer: Jeff Phungglan
Sr. Art Director: Xavier Rivera
Sr. Designer: Darlene Gibson
Sr. Designer: Shannon Burns

Strategy
Director of Brand Strategy: Kelleen Peckham
Associate Director of Brand Strategy: Mel Gray
Content Strategist: Mariya Manuel

Account Management
Managing Director: Kumi Croom
Associate Account Director: Valerie Nerio
Associate Account Director: Davis Wolfe
Account Supervisor: Vida Thaxton

Project Management
Associate Director, Project Management: Bryan Moore
Project Manager: Kevin Reza

Media planning + analytics
Group Director, Media + Analytics: Maddy Robinson
Associate Director, Media + Analytics: Sally Lockwood
Planner, Media + Analytics: Artemis Mansur
Associate Planner, Media + Analytics: Sara Wiler
Director, Digital + Analytics: Rob Griffin
Senior Analyst, Media + Analytics: Ranjani Ravirajan
Senior Analyst, Media + Analytics: Paul Callaway
Associate Director of Paid Social: Eddie Gonzalez
Associate Director of Search: Kyle Rovinski
Senior Search Manager: Amira Kishak

Production
Senior Producer: Amanda Chaffin
Head of TV & content production: Keenan Hemje
Executive Producer: Rita Ribera Channon
Production Assistant: Star Baclay
Head of digital production: Eric Kozak
Manager of art production: Shaz Kuerschner
Business Manager: Tricia Krasneski

Studio
Production Artist: Phat Trieu

PRODUCTION
Production Company: The Directors Bureau
Director: Emmanuel Adjei
Managing Director: Hillary Rogers
Head of Production: Sarah Morrison
Executive Producer: Stephanie Bruni
Producer: Ash Marshall
Line Producer: Timory King
Director of Photography: Adam Newport-Berra
Production Designer: Dylan Kahn

Production Consultant: Streetlights

POST PRODUCTION
Edit House: Cabin Edit
Editor: Taylor Tracy Walsh 
Assistant Editor: Allyson Nicholson
Executive Producer: Adam Becht
Executive Sales, West Coast: Britt Carson
Sr. Producer: Lynne Mannino

VFX House: Mathematic
VFX Supervisor: Dan Karp
VFX Coordinator: Ipek Kahraman
Managing Director: Hadi Dahrouge
Post Producer: Matthew Allen

Telecine: Trafik
Colorist: Daniel du Vue
Producer: Julia King, Hugh Copeland

Audio Mix: Tone11
Sound Design: Interlude Sounds / Tone11
Post Production Audio Producer: Interlude: Daniel Balk, Tone11: Krista Herzog

MUSIC
Music Company: Interlude Sounds
Performed by: James William Blades
Written by: James William Blades

PHOTOGRAPHY
Photographer/Videographer: Raul Romo
Photo Producer: Timory King
Photo Producer: Cecilia Soghikian
Art Buyer: Shaz Kuerschner
Post Production: DMAX Imaging

CLIENT
Media & Communications Section Chief: Julie Lautsch
Media Unit Chief: Jennifer Garcia
Media & Communications Senior Strategist: Erin Walsh
Media & Communications Senior Financial Analyst: Sandra Soria
Media & Communications Strategist: Rais Tuluka
Media & Communications Specialist: Vikki Ueda
Communications Unit Chief: Frank Ruiz
Media & Communications Digital Strategist: Jennifer Biddle
Media & Communications Specialist: Holly Vannatta

Hispanic/Latino cultural partner: Acento
Asian cultural partner: APartnership
Website development partner: Beyond