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Unique Billboard Spotlights QUITPLAN(SM) Stop-Smoking Services
MINNEAPOLIS, Dec. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Today the Minnesota Partnership for
Action Against Tobacco (MPAAT) unveiled a "spectacular" QUITPLAN billboard
hoisted by a 24-foot cigarette extinguished in an ashtray nearly 20 feet in
diameter. In an age when its increasingly challenging to cut through media
clutter, creative ideas are crucial to connect with the public -- especially
when the messages are about health.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051215/CGTH031 )
"The new billboard is a classic example of making something bigger than
life," said Jerry Fury, Vice President Creative Director at Clarity Coverdale
Fury, the Minneapolis advertising agency that designed the billboard. "I
think the giant sculpture of the cigarette being crushed in the ashtray says
were offering help to quit in a very unexpected fashion," Fury added.
The billboard can be viewed through June 15, 2006 by North- and
South-bound travelers on Interstate-35 near Forest Lake. The billboard
features the QUITPLAN Helpline number, 1-888-354-PLAN (7526), and
http://quitplan.com .
"MPAAT has been a leader in innovative and attention-getting advertising.
This billboard is our latest effort to grab the publics attention and remind
them that QUITPLAN services are available," said David Willoughby, MPAAT Chief
Executive Officer. "QUITPLAN Helpline callers are up to seven times more
likely to quit smoking than if they try to quit on their own. It is our
responsibility to spread this message to Minnesotans and this billboard will
help us do that."
Other facts about the billboard include:
-- The giant cigarette stands more than 24 feet tall -- 32 feet when
inside the ashtray.
-- The oversized ashtray is 53 feet around, seven feet deep and 17 feet
in diameter. It weighs approximately 400 lbs.
-- Each day, Minnesotans smoke enough cigarettes to fill 3.8 of the giant
cigarette props.
-- 5,078,440 actual cigarettes fit inside the giant cigarette.
-- Unlike real cigarettes, the giant cigarette poses no health risk to
Minnesotans.
Attached photo is an illustration. Photos of the completed billboard will
be available on Friday upon request at 952-767-1404.
MPAAT is an independent, non-profit organization that improves the health
of Minnesotans by reducing the harm caused by tobacco. MPAAT serves Minnesota
through its grant-making program, QUITPLAN(SM) stop-smoking services and
statewide outreach activities. It is funded with three percent of the States
1998 tobacco settlement.
For more information about QUITPLAN services, call 1-952-767-1400 or visit
http://www.mpaat.org .
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