COSH Hong Kong Smoke Free Campaign

Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health to promote Smoke-free to the Hong Kong public and encourages them to take action as soon as possible, working with our team to create the "Get Started! Quit now" campaign to increase people's awareness. We invited Hong Kong's famous TV actor, Pal Sinn, an ex-smoker, to collaborate to launch two sets of TVC and Print Ads. This campaign successfully helps COSH to deliver its message to smokers and motivate them to win the battle for their families and themselves.
 

Challenge
 

Smoking is a behaviour sustained by habit, denial and rationalisation. COSH needed a culturally resonant idea that exposes internal excuses, reframes quitting as an act of protection for family, and gives the public a single, urgent action to take: press the Quit button. Casting Pal Sinn brings credibility and relatability, increasing reach and emotional weight.
 

Objective

Convert hesitation into immediate quitting action by making the choice visible, emotional, and simple — one button, one call to action.

The Big Idea
 

Quit as a visible decision. Stage the internal conflict as real confrontations and mirrors so viewers experience the moment of choice. Anchor every execution with a single tangible Call to Action: the green power‑button motif and the command, 

 

Get Started! Quit now.

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The button is both a metaphor and the campaign’s action device — a direct route from feeling to behaviour.

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Creative Concept 

Fight the Ego

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A cramped bathroom mirror confrontation where the smoker confronts their rationalising alter‑ego. Pal Sinn calls out excuses, the smoker breaks a cigarette and presses the Quit button.  

Those Who Have No Voice

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Pal Sinn teaches his son not to eat or do unhealthy things. The son asks, simply and without judgment: “Then why do you still smoke?” The question functions as a mirror. Pal’s face moves from defense to shame, then to resolve. He presses the green power button on the kitchen counter, extinguishes the cigarette, and commits to quitting — for himself and for his child.  

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Outcomes

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Stronger public conversation about quitting, improved approachability of COSH messaging, and higher perceived credibility via Pal Sinn’s involvement.

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