Behind the Scenes with Oxford House Video Agency

Creating Change Through Honest Storytelling: Behind the Scenes of Our Anti-Smoking Campaign

At Oxford House Video Agency, we recently worked on a powerful and thought-provoking anti-smoking campaignaimed at tackling two significant challenges: preventing vaping among young people and encouraging smokers to quit. Collaborating on this project gave me a chance to be part of a nuanced approach to public health messaging—one that avoids scare tactics and instead focuses on relatable, real-life stories.

Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at how we brought this campaign to life, ensuring it was not only impactful but also resonated with a wide audience.

The Challenge: Two Messages, One Goal

How do you deliver two seemingly contradictory messages in one campaign? On one hand, we wanted to encourage smokers to "Swap to Stop," transitioning to vaping as a step toward quitting nicotine altogether. On the other, we aimed to deter young people from picking up vaping in the first place.

The solution was surprisingly simple: treat everyone with respect. By telling real, authentic stories, the campaign avoided patronizing or lecturing its audience. Instead, it focused on empowering viewers to think critically about their habits and choices.

Authentic Storytelling That Inspires

At the heart of this campaign were interviews with former smokers and vapers. Each individual shared their personal journey—some transitioning from cigarettes to vaping as a harm-reduction method, others aiming to quit both entirely.

We also included a mother whose teenager vapes, adding a perspective that many parents could relate to. These stories weren’t edited to push a specific agenda; instead, they presented honest accounts that viewers could connect with, either seeing their own struggles or finding inspiration in others' successes.

This approach had two key benefits:

For smokers: It provided encouragement and relatable role models for taking steps toward quitting.
For young people: It highlighted the realities of nicotine addiction without glorifying vaping.

Designing the Right Aesthetic

Every creative decision was made to enhance the impact of the stories while keeping the message authentic:

Backdrop & Setting:Filming took place in a large public hall with a dark, textured backdrop. This choice subtly evoked the look of a school photo, tying into themes of youth and nostalgia while also hinting at the serious consequences of smoking.
Cutaways:Modern, stylish cutaways were used to add depth to the stories, showcasing more of the interviewees' personalities and building a connection with the audience.
Audio Simplicity:We kept the sound design clean and unobtrusive, allowing the powerful words of the interviewees to take center stage without distraction.

Optimized for Digital Audiences

In today’s fast-paced digital world, content needs to grab attention quickly. To ensure maximum reach, each video was crafted in both landscape and portrait formats for compatibility across platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Short runtimes (under two minutes) made the videos digestible while maintaining their emotional impact.

Respecting the Audience’s Intelligence

What sets this campaign apart is its respect for the audience. Instead of using scare tactics or overwhelming viewers with statistics, it focused on honest storytelling. By presenting real experiences, the campaign empowered smokers and young people to reflect on their own choices without feeling judged or pressured.

A Campaign That Leaves an Impression

Working on this project with Oxford House Video Agency reinforced the power of storytelling. By treating the audience as equals and offering relatable perspectives, we created content that has the potential to drive real change.

Whether it’s encouraging a smoker to take the first step toward quitting or helping a teenager reconsider vaping, this campaign is a testament to how thoughtful, nuanced messaging can make a difference.

I’m proud to have played a role in creating this impactful project and look forward to seeing it inspire change in our community and beyond.