The Real Cost TV Spot, 'Any Reason' Song by Dying Regret

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On the bleachers after school, a girl asks her friend if she wants a smoke, to which the friend says no. When asked if it's because of the harmful chemicals in cigarettes, she replies she can't separate the index finger from her middle finger. Wearing bows and holding hands, all obviously drawn with a marker, the two are in love. Plus, the girl won't even think about using her other hand since she doesn't want to break up the band Death Maggot. Cue the heavy rock music and massive hair flipping. The Real Cost shows any reason is a brilliant reason not to smoke.

iSpot Review - June 30, 2015

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's The Real Cost campaign has taken a decidedly less serious approach to anti-smoking in this lighthearted new spot.

What starts out as a typical ad about the dangers of smoking, quickly turns into a head banging rock out session in 'Any Reason'. Two teens are sitting on the bleachers when one asks the other if she wants to smoke. She responsibly declines, but not for the reasons you might think. The girl declares that she's not refusing to smoke because of the dangerous chemicals in cigarettes, but because her index finger and middle finger are in love and she can't separate them. And she's certainly not breaking up the heavy metal band, Death Maggot, made up by the fingers on her left hand! At this point, the ad seems a little random, but the ending statement, "Any reason is a brilliant reason not to smoke" perfectly ties it all together and brings the point home.

The message is simple, but the impact is strong. The hard hitting facts and shocking images so often used in these ads can make them hard to watch, and consequently easier to ignore. But by turning the tables on the genre, the FDA manages to both get their point across and make something teenagers might actually pay attention to.