New Nicorette ads underscore process of kicking the habit

PITTSBURGH GlaxoSmithKline on Monday unveiled a new advertising campaign supporting its smoking cessation franchise that will feature the tagline, “Nicorette makes quitting suck less.”

The $15 million ad campaign, according to a Forbes report, will run nationally through prime, cable and syndicated stations, on networks including ABC, CBS, NBC and CW.

“With an average smoker attempting to quit up to nine times before doing so successfully, we can’t paint a picture that quitting is easy,” stated Michael Roe, marketing director of the U.S. smoking control business at GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare. “GSK is committed to finding ways to help break down barriers for smokers because we understand how hard it is to quit, and even if it takes a few attempts, Nicorette can help handle cravings and withdrawal symptoms through the process.”

The concept behind the campaign is to focus on the process of quitting rather than the need to quit, and to be honest, about the fact that quitting smoking is no easy task. The new Nicorette ads bring to life the challenges of quitting smoking using the language smokers use to describe it with unique elements such as the inclusion of a device called a Suckometer that measures the “suck level” of a smoker’s craving. The device demonstrates how Nicorette’s fast craving relief can change a smoker’s craving level for a cigarette from “sucks a lot” to “sucks less.”

“In order to truly connect with smokers, we realized that we needed to change how we speak to them about quitting,” said Mark Figliulo, chief creative officer of TBWA\Chiat\Day in New York. “The campaign is designed to engage smokers in an honest way by reaching them with a message that shows the brand understands what they are going through, and that Nicorette is on their side.”

Nicorette will be running an Open Letter to smokers in national magazines and newspapers to introduce the new campaign, in outlets, including ESPN, People, Time and Entertainment Weekly, as well as on the Nicorette Facebook fan page. Additionally, Nicorette will run: 30 radio commercials on network radio stations. Consumers will be able to find the ads on Nicorette.com and on the Nicorette Facebook fan page.