truth: Infect truth

truth^® was “viral” before people knew what “viral” was. In 2002 we launched the "Infect" campaign, with the tagline “Knowledge is contagious, infect truth.” The TV had teenagers “infecting” unsuspecting passersby through random street stunts. The print, tour and online stuff gave kids the tools to spread the word about Big Tobacco themselves.

A few years later, the popularity of social networking and viral video sites made “infecting” truth that much easier. So we updated the campaign. You might say we were ahead of our time. Well there, we said it for you.

Big Tobacco has used cowboys to sell quite a bit of product. We wanted to inject a little reality into the image. The above spot spurred lots of copycat/tribute videos and thousands of comments on YouTube.

Box of Poison Baby Invasion Ratman

Print

These print ads include stickers (on the right side) that are meant to be removed from the magazine and stuck in public places for others to get the message. It’s interactive print.

Hairy Mail

With 165,000 friend-to-friend hairy-mails sent, this was one of our most infectious tools. Why are gross things so effective with teens? They just are. This tool was tied to a similarly hirsute TV spot.

Infect truth Website

This website was at the heart of our Infect strategy. It contains over 70 different ways to infect your friends with knowledge about the tobacco industry. You can also track how many infections you are responsible for by checking out the progress of the giant tumor on the side of a Big Tobacco office building. It grows bigger with every infection sent.