VIP

It’s not often that a client briefs you to get their advert banned but that’s exactly what e-cigarette brand, VIP, did.

The advert premiered on the day that changes in ASA regulations meant that, for the first time, e-cig manufacturers could show a person vaping and was broadcast post watershed, in a campaign which ran for two weeks.

With VIPs previous advert being one of the year’s most complained about and one which banned four months after it first aired, we had big shoes to fill!

Our objectives were to:
• Create a national talking point about the advert and vaping
• Generate controversy without being irresponsible
• ‘Stoke the fire’ and then quietly withdraw
• Get the advert banned!

Highlight results included:
• 71 pieces of print coverage
• Over 4,000 shares of online coverage
• Mentions on Alan Carr Chatty Man and Loose Women
• Advert shown on seven TV news programmes
• Advert hosted on 24 national news sites, including ITV News, BBC News, Sky News, telegraph.co.uk, Mail Online and Huffington Post, among others
• 13,282,701,844 opportunities to see.

Most importantly, the advert was referred to the ASA and generated more than 200 complaints. It was banned on 24 December – thus achieving our final objective, and generating another burst of coverage.