Love Communications & Tobacco Free Utah give smokers a "Clue" about their fate

 

Salt Lake City-based Love Communications created the above ad as part of a print campaign for Tobacco Free Utah, working to garner awareness of successful quitting attempts. The ads stem from the popular board game "Clue", where players solve a murder by identifying the victim, the weapon used and the room serving as the stage for their demise. In the ad, the central figure's smoke lofts into the shape of a rope, one of the possible weapons in the board game, and accompanies the copy in the bottom corner: It wasn't the rope in the conservatory that did him in. Information about Smoke Free Utah is provided as well.

I find this ad to be striking and effective for several reasons: first, the usage of design is commendable. Instead of relying on simple photography and topping it with editing tricks and photoshop layers, we are presented with a shadowy, well-drawn digital image; second, creatively drawing from a popular board game will resonate with a broad range of audiences and allow the message to disseminate with ease; lastly, it benefits from a lack of excessive copy. The one line of copy ties the image and its theme to the client, providing just enough information to guide consumers to further information. It's bold, colorful and creative, and if I were a smoker I'd take the message to heart.