Nicorette help smokers win the war against nicotine addiction. However, research confirms that smoking is not just about physiological addiction but also a social one. Social pressure is both the #1 trigger to start smoking and the #1 reason why smokers continue smoking. But instead of creating a campaign using Nicorette to fight the social pressures of smoking, we saw an opportunity to harness the peer pressure on Facebook to help quitters quit.

‘Join the Quitters’ was created as a Facebook support group for people to quit smoking. Simultaneously, the campaign indirectly prompted wannabe quitters to place their smoking friends in the arena of shame, in the visual giant ashtray. Those outside the ashtray acted as allies to support those within the ashtray to quit. The aim was to get the smokers to sign a Nicorette Quitters Pledge, promising their friends they would quit.

This pledge was then made public on the smoker’s Facebook profile page for all to see. The Facebook post would further rally more supporters, with the professional help Nicorette provides.

The initiative was further supported by the world’s first and only run to promote smoking cessation – Nicorette Quitters Run. The run was very much a celebration of the quitter’s courage and resilience in embarking on their very challenging personal quest to stay smoking-free.

Results – By creating a social support ecosystem around the Nicorette brand, we successfully increased trial rates by 25%.