Shocking AMV And Cancer Research UK Film

 

AMV have created an 80” film as part of Cancer Research UK’s new plain packaging campaign, The Answer is Plain, which launches today, asking people to sign an online petition to remove all branding from tobacco-packaging. The campaign coincides with the release of a new Cancer Research UK report which identifies young people (and women) as target groups for tobacco packaging.  

 

The hard-hitting short film demonstrates children’s attraction to the slickly designed cigarette packs, and shows powerful scenes of six to eleven year olds as they innocently discuss what appeals to them about the brightly coloured and attractively designed packaging.  The footage was filmed in two primary schools (in Bromley and Soho) with Rogue Films director, Finn McGough, and the children’s responses to the packs were unprompted and unscripted.

 

The children’s reactions to the packs include: “It makes you feel like you’re in a wonderland of happiness”, “The pictures actually look quite nice. Ice cubes and mint.”, “Is that the Royal Sign?” and “Yeah. Pink, pink, pink”.

 

Jean King, Cancer Research UK’s director of tobacco control, said: “This footage provides us with a chilling insight into how powerful branding and marketing can be. Children are drawn to the colourful and slick designs without having a full understanding of how deadly the product is inside the pack.

 

“It’s time to end the packet racket. Our research shows the value attached to packaging by the tobacco industry. And parents know first-hand that children are affected by marketing and branding, and when that marketing is attracting children to cigarettes, we need to give young people one less reason to start smoking.”

 

AMV’s Chief Executive Officer, Ian Pearman adds: “At AMV we have a long history of behaviour changing campaigns that are in the public interest - from anti-smoking work with the Department of Health and road safety with the Department for Transport to Make Poverty History. This campaign is every bit as important as those.”

 

A series of press ads form part of the overall campaign, the first based on copy from internal tobacco industry documents* that describes how packaging is the last bastion of advertising for the tobacco industry.

The film can be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_z-4S8iicc&feature=youtu.be