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Florida "truth"

Also: Florida Tobacco Pilot Program truth campaign · Reel truth

“truth”

Florida youth anti-smoking campaign (US-FL) launched in 1998 by the Florida Tobacco Pilot Program with money from the state's 1997 tobacco settlement. Teens helped shape ads that portrayed tobacco executives as manipulative; the American Legacy Foundation took the model national in 2000.

Years
1998–2000
Country
United States
Budget
$25 million advertising campaign in its first year (as reported by Wikipedia).
Topic
Tobacco
Asks people to
Never start
Strategy
Industry denormalization
Channel
EventsOutdoorPrintSchoolTV
Audience
Youth
Florida teens 12-17; youth advocacy arm SWAT (Students Working Against Tobacco).

Evidence

Quasi-experimentalPositive

Florida youth tracked against national comparison surveys had stronger anti-tobacco attitudes and better smoking behavior after one year (Sly 2001). Florida Youth Tobacco Survey: current smoking fell from 18.5% to 11.1% in middle school and 27.4% to 22.6% in high school, 1998-2000 (Bauer 2000; program-wide, not media alone). After 1999 budget cuts, campaign recall fell and anti-industry beliefs and non-smoking intentions plateaued (Niederdeppe 2008).

Sponsor (who paid)

  • Florida Department of Health, Florida Tobacco Pilot Program State local government, funder and creator
  • Florida tobacco settlement (1997) Settlement funded, funding source

Credits (who made it)

Related campaigns

Sources

  1. Sly DF, Heald GR, Ray S. The Florida "truth" anti-tobacco media evaluation: design, first year results, and implications for planning future state media evaluations. Tob Control 2001;10(1):9-15 evaluation · 2001 · DOI 10.1136/tc.10.1.9 · PMID 11226354
  2. Bauer UE et al. Changes in youth cigarette use and intentions following implementation of a tobacco control program: findings from the Florida Youth Tobacco Survey, 1998-2000. JAMA 2000;284(6):723-8 evaluation · 2000 · DOI 10.1001/jama.284.6.723 · PMID 10927781
  3. Niederdeppe J et al. Consequences of dramatic reductions in state tobacco control funds: Florida, 1998-2000. Tob Control 2008;17(3):205-10 evaluation · 2008 · DOI 10.1136/tc.2007.024331 · PMID 18390911
  4. Communication Initiative: truth anti-smoking campaign - Florida, USA history
  5. Wikipedia: Truth (anti-tobacco campaign) reference
  6. Sly DF et al. Influence of a counteradvertising media campaign on initiation of smoking: the Florida 'truth' campaign. Am J Public Health 2001 evaluation · 2001 · DOI 10.2105/ajph.91.2.233 · PMID 11211631
  7. Niederdeppe J et al. Confirming 'truth': more evidence of a successful tobacco countermarketing campaign in Florida. Am J Public Health 2004 evaluation · 2004 · DOI 10.2105/ajph.94.2.255 · PMID 14759936

Research notes

US-FL. Launch month differs by source (April vs August 1998). End year 2000 is approximate: Florida funding was cut in 1999 and the brand moved to the national campaign in 2000. Credits checked 2026-10-22 against fetched pages: Crispin Porter + Bogusky (Adweek, 9 Feb 1998: CP&B landed Florida's $70 million anti-tobacco account; partners included Porter Novelli). Corrected 2026-10-22: source changed from the Communication Initiative page, which no longer loads (live or Wayback), to the Adweek article; years narrowed from 1998-2000 to 1998, the only year the page supports. WARC also credits Arnold Worldwide on truth, likely for the national phase. Ad library: predates platform libraries; for current Florida work search "Tobacco Free Florida". Evaluation sources added 2026-10-22 (citation snowballing / helpline pass): Sly 2001, Niederdeppe 2004; evidence level and outcome unchanged.

Record cases/fl-truth.json, updated 2026-10-22· Link to this campaign