Cigarette Butts are Rubbish

Client: Keep Britain Tidy

This is a story about how one small, persistent duck was able to change minds and behaviours among one of the most notoriously hard to reach audiences: heavy smokers.

It’s a story about how Keep Britain Tidy, a leading environmental charity, transformed its approach to communications in order to drive sustained positive change. In a world where smokers are marginalised, defensive, taxed and told off, legislated against rather than persuaded, Keep Britain Tidy did something radical: it listened to smokers and tried to understand them. At its heart, this is a story about the application of robust behavioural science to connect with a misunderstood and maligned group of people in the UK. By keeping humour and empathy at the core of communication, Keep Britain Tidy spoke to smokers – not at them. Our national campaign saw unprecedented results. Changing opinions among an audience who have resisted anti-smoking comms for years. Changing behaviours among an audience who don’t like being told what to do. And ultimately marketing to support an important environmental cause: reducing national cigarette butt litter on the ground by 17%.