‘You’ve got to scare people’: Anti-vaping campaign makes no sense, says Howcroft [Video]

Marketing guru Russel Howcroft has slammed the Federal Government’s new anti-vaping campaign in his latest podcast episode. 

Speaking on the ‘AdMission’ podcast, the radio host and advertising expert criticised the Federal Government’s approach in its new national campaign targeting young people who vape.

The campaign uses the threat of social harm, not cancer, to get its message across, ditching the distressing, graphic images of people dying in hospital beds seen in previous anti-smoking campaigns. 

Asked by co-host Freddie Young what he thought about the campaign’s endline ‘Why Are We Still Doing This?’ Howcroft replied: “Honestly, it makes no sense.”

“It’s also like the Government is complaining that it’s doing advertising. Like they’re going, why are we still in a position that we’ve got to advertise a health message?”

“You’ve got to scare people. In a changing how people behave campaign, you have to scare people.

“Vaping is a nicotine delivery …