Who Will You Leave Behind?
The ‘Who Will You Leave Behind?’ campaign focused on the experiences, thoughts and emotions of family members left behind when someone dies from a smoking-related illness. The campaign was first launched in May 2009 and re-aired in February and March 2010.
Television advertising featured Perth brothers, Luke and Ben Eliot, whose father Neil passed away in 2007 from smoking-caused lung cancer. Neil Eliot was just 52 years old when he died and missed meeting his first grandchild by only one month. He was a pack-a-day smoker from his late teens until his late 30s when he quit for eight years, only taking up the habit again due to the pressures of his work.
In the television advertisements the brothers talked honestly and openly about their father’s battle with cancer and how it affected them and their families. Following through on Neil’s dying wish that this story be shared, Luke and Ben urged all smokers to quit and do it now, so that others won’t have to go through the pain their family experienced.
Press advertising complemented the television advertisements in February and March 2010.
Research found that the ‘Who Will You Leave Behind?’ campaign has been Make Smoking History’s most successful campaign to date in encouraging smokers to talk to their GP or another health professional about quitting. As result many other agencies throughout Australia have requested to use the campaign.
Watch the 30 and 45 second TV advertisements
View other campaign materials
- Campaign summary 2009 and 2010 (pdf 88kb)
