No more cat videos? Truth Initiative, Petco partner on latest PSA
WASHINGTON - The Truth Initiative and Petco on Thursday teamed together on a public service quit-smoking campaign with a video that pulls at the heart strings - if you can't quit for yourself, would you quit for your furry friend?
The Truth Initiative first warned of tobacco's impact on pets a couple of weeks ago with its #CATmageddon video, which put forth the simple premise: if cats owned by smokers are twice as likely to get cancer, then we will one day live in a world with no cat videos. And what fun is that, really?
According to the lateset truth survey, young pet owners visit the vet just as frequently as visiting the doctor themselves. By tapping into pet mania, truth is rallying this generation of teens to end tobacco use for good.
#CATmageddon premiered on the 2016 Grammy Awards broadcast and has already been viewed more than 33 million times, the Truth Initiative noted. The new ad, called #FinishIT, makes clear that dogs and cats are twice as likely to get cancer if their owners smoke. An extension of truth’s award-winning Finish It campaign, the ad underscores the immediate, unexpected dangers of the No. 1 cause of preventable death, tobacco.
“The more attention we generate and the more young people we engage to help us finish the tobacco epidemic, the more lives – humans and pets – we can save,” stated Robin Koval, CEO and president of Truth Initiative, the national public health organization that directs and funds the truth campaign. “When one out of four young pet owners has taken a sick day to care for a pet, you know you will grab their attention with the truth about pets and cancer. These ads, and our online and in-store activities with Petco, will get more young people involved in the movement to end tobacco use.”
Petco, a pet specialty retailer, has teamed up with truth to help spread the word. Beginning on March 1, all Petco locations nationwide will be giving out free Finish It pet collar charms and tips on how to protect pets from the negative impact of tobacco. Pet owners can support “Finishing it” in the name of their furry friends by visiting a local Petco to receive a collar charm for their dog or cat to wear, while supplies last.
“We’ve watched for more than 50 years as people increasingly treat their pets like true members of the family, so we’re not surprised to see that many young pet parents take their pet’s health so seriously,” said Whitney Miller, director of veterinary medicine for Petco. “That’s why we’re thrilled to provide helpful tips for pet parents concerned about the effects of secondhand smoke on their pets and an easy way they can help spread the word and show their support for this powerful campaign.”
The #FinishIT ad is part of Finish It, the campaign truth launched in August 2014 to inspire a movement of youth and young adults to end tobacco use. More than 294 million people have participated in the Finish It movement thus far.
The Finish It campaign and new ad were created by truth’s agency of record, 72andSunny. Media planning and buying is handled by Assembly, truth’s media agency of record.