The premise

Proposition C was written by the tobacco industry as an attempt to roll back the e-cigarette ban passed in the Bay Area in 2019. We were brought in to defeat it, but started our opposition campaign weeks after our opponent, the e-cigarette company JUUL, had started spending millions running misinformation ads and using deceptive marketing tactics.

The work

On a shortened timeline, we took advantage of a negative media environment for JUUL and research showing that San Francisco voters overwhelmingly saw Big Tobacco unfavorably. Equipped with this information, we made the campaign a referendum on Big Tobacco, building a brand from scratch that reclaimed color schemes historically used by large cigarette companies. We then tested over 100+ pieces of unique creative across digital channels, refreshing our assets in real-time to keep engagement high.

The results

• Reached more than 1 million people in the Bay Area by election day, on average 5-6X per week

• Drove a measurable +8% lift in planned NO votes through our digital ad placements, which helped contribute to an unprecedented win on Election Day (81% NO)

• Our work won a Pollie Award from The American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC)