September 2005 – March 2006

2005 VANCOUVER, BC Jorgensen Designs was awarded the role of campaign designer for the first quit smoking campaign in North America. It targets the GLBTQ community in Vancouver, BC. The multimedia campaign was created by Philip Jorgensen, and managed by Stephen Rodrozen. The project was conceived by Gay West and funded by Vancouver Coastal Health and Health Canada. It took six months, from design to completion of a marketing research survey on its efficacy.

 

Proud to Quit Smoking demonstrates the ability of Jorgensen to create a social marketing campaign that appeals to a specific community with a spectrum of differences. The approach, content, and deployment required awareness of and sensitivity to the social, cultural, and political issues and agendas. These include identity politics, representation by the other, and mainstream media stereotypes. My theoretical studies in the visual arts were essential to making this campaign succeed.

 

The most effective and fun approach to attract the attention of the audience, and one that would be difficult to criticize as using stereotypes, was to use volunteers from the community. Since the LGBTQ community is small enough and found mostly in the West End, the majority of people in the campaign would be recognized, giving it credibility. Using a 'gay voice,' which is both a self-effacing type of humour and a reclaiming of the exaggerated stereotypes for the copywriting provided a lightness and humour to a serious and challenging topic.

 

My campaign passed through all the committees with flying colours with minor changes, and the  West End community got on board with their support. Stephen RodRosen found willing participants of every gender, race, age, sexuality and politic, and photoshoots were set up. I interviewed each of the 26 participants and wrote a synopsis of their stories. 

 

The campaign was a great success. Independent market research showed that there was over 80% awareness of the campaign, and also a significant and higher than average number who used the campaign to cease or limit their tobacco intake. Several GLBTQ organizations throughout the U.S. and Canada showed interest in using the campaign for their own communities. 

 

 

Team members:

• Michael Jorgensen Strategic Visual Designer

• Stephen Rodrozen, Campaign Manager

 

Conceived and Funded by:

• Gay West

• Vancouver Coastal Health

• Health Canada