Find Your Power

Campaign: We Can Stop This

Elements: TV, Radio, Print & Social Media

• Situation:

  • Big Tobacco companies and nicotine addiction are mortal threats to the Lakota people’s health, culture, tradition, and spirituality. Tobacco companies have been exploiting Native populations for decades. American Indians use tobacco products at more than twice the rates of other populations and start at a younger age. Tobacco/nicotine addiction is a significant economic obstacle and not only contributes to significantly higher levels of chronic disease but also exposes children and loved ones to high levels of second and thirdhand smoke. 

• Challenge:

  • Traditional tobacco (Cansasa) is part of sacred ceremonies and bears little resemblance to commercial tobacco. However, Cansasa harvesting and processing is time-consuming and not familiar to everyone. Commercial tobacco products are often substituted in ceremonies. 

  • Convince them that commercial tobacco has no place in Lakota culture and encourage people to know the difference. 

  • The tobacco industry outspends counter-marketing efforts by orders of magnitude. 

• Approach:

  • Encourage tribal members to respect and support each other as they overcome their addiction to tobacco products and nicotine. Invite them to lean on their sense of family and instinct to protect one another – especially elders and children. 

  • Encourage grandmothers to speak out against commercial tobacco use as matriarchs with authority in native communities.

  • Offer them tools and mentors to assist them in this heroic endeavor. 

  • Remind them that by smoking/using nicotine they are perpetuating addiction from generation to generation.

• Result:

  • The messages were delivered by their own people using their unique language and imagery. It was a call to action from inside their own culture.

  • The original television spot was produced in the late 1990s in both English and Lakota. To this day, the Lakota version of this ad receives exceptional views and positive comments when run on social media platforms. The campaign has continued in various iterations to present and is still one of the most successful in terms of engagement and community support.