JEL Campaign Wins National Award - Posted: 06/10/2009
"What Town is Next?" earns gold in world's largest advertising competition
An anti-tobacco campaign by JEL (Just Eliminate Lies) and the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) has won a Gold "ADDY" Award for excellence in advertising from the American Advertising Federation. The innovative "What Town is Next?" campaign won the top honor in the Mixed Media for Public Service category.

Focusing on the fact that 1,200 people die in the U.S. every day from smoking-a number equal to the population of many Iowa towns-the campaign included a YouTube video, billboards, TV commercials, print ads, radio spots, and Internet banners. Each ad depicted what it would be like to lose an entire Iowa town in one day.

"Public service campaigns are an important part of our mission to promote and protect the health of Iowans," said IDPH Director Tom Newton. "This award is another example of Iowa's continued leadership among youth-led tobacco control movements across the nation."

Since 2000, JEL has won more than 130 local, regional and national awards for its effective public service campaigns. In its short nine-year history, three of JEL's members have advanced to the national stage as recipients of Youth Advocates of the Year awards from the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids.

After winning local and regional ADDY Awards in February and April, the "What Town is Next?" campaign advanced to the finals, where it competed with nearly 1,600 campaigns. This year, there were 100 gold awards and 175 silver awards.

With more than 60,000 entries annually, the ADDY Awards are the world's largest and arguably toughest advertising competition. The American Advertising Federation, a not-for-profit industry association conducts the ADDY Awards through its 200-member advertising clubs and 15 districts.

To see the award-winning campaign, visit www.whattownisnext.com. To learn more about JEL, go to www.jeliowa.org.