Ed Cotton: Communicating The Invisible Threat

Some of the best and most powerful communication ever created was the work that put Big Tobacco to task.

It created an enemy that everyone could rally against and presented its role and connection to the changed health and lives of individuals in an emotionally powerful way.

We must remember that cigarettes didn’t get banned, but they got the next best thing. The most important thing that happened is that masses of the population were made aware of the damaging effects of tobacco, so they could make an informed decision.

Generations will look back and realize that the efforts made to fight big tobacco to protect the health of individuals may have been one of mankind’s greatest achievements.

In the future, we could discover that many things were just as harmful to human health as cigarettes.

We know there have been efforts against sodas, the fast-food industry and even cellphones have come under attack.

While the information of the health effects has been out there for a while on many of these categories. It’s been hard to prove and substantiate any proof of a direct connection to health effects.

More importantly, they don’t have and are unlikely to generate the same level of momentum and passion as the attack against big tobacco.

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Ed Cotton is the Director of Strategy at BSSP, and is curious about all things relating to brands, marketing and culture. Read more at influx insights.