Menthol masks the harsh taste of tobacco with a cooling minty flavor that can result in smokers inhaling deeper into the lungs causing greater exposure to harmful and addictive chemicals. For decades, the tobacco industry has targeted African American/Black and Latino/Latinx people with heavy marketing of menthol cigarettes in their communities. The racist practices of the tobacco industry have led to higher rates of menthol use among certain populations. In Los Angeles County, there are high smoking prevalence rates among African Americans and Latinx men who use menthol tobacco products. So, the County’s Department of Public Health needed to bring attention to the dangers of menthol cigarettes and encourage menthol smokers to try and quit smoking with free resources through the California Smokers’ Helpline.

Los Angeles County continues its work to reverse the damages of tobacco trends by raising attention about the industry’s marketing tactics to market menthol use to communities of color.

Take the strategies from Big Tobacco’s own visual language and style in their menthol smoking ads and empower African American/Black and Latino/Latinx communities to take back control of their own health. Creative testing was done on a small scale to validate the campaign’s approach.

Thumb-stopping social media and digital ads satirizing vintage menthol ads with hard-hitting headlines.