IF YOU LIVE IN THE MID-ATLANTIC AND OWN A TELEVISION, YOU'VE INEVITABLY SEEN ONE OF THE "Y DO U THINK?" NONSMOKING CAMPAIGN ADS.   One of the masterminds behind the thought-provoking ads targeted to young smokers is Holly Bayliss ('02). Her Washington, D.C.-based marketing firm helped create the Y Do U Think campaign, which originated through the Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation's effort to reduce youth smoking in the commonwealth.

Getting the message out to today's youth was a draw for Bayliss. "One thing I am most passionate about is the message that teens and tweens should not smoke," she explains. "It was an easy campaign to promote because I believe in the message. It was encouraging to receive so much positive feedback from the youth, as well. Youth smoking is on the decline in Virginia, and I believe that can be attributed to programs like the Y campaign."

In order to get teens involved in the message, the Y campaign took an interactive approach. Youths were allowed inside the campaign's rant mobile, a Mini Cooper. "When a child participated in the rant mobile they were able to cram as many friends as they could into the Mini Cooper to watch a short video and express whatever was on their minds -- anything from peer pressure to parents' attitudes and school," explains Bayliss. With parental permission, the video rants were eligible for posting on the Y campaign Web site or use in the Y Do U Think? commercials."

Rant mobile participants also received a photo of themselves and their friends and promotional bracelets with information about the Y campaign, which will run through 2005.

"I believe that this campaign is making a difference," says Bayliss. "I loved interacting with all of the tweens and teens, many of whom I interviewed and videoed in one-on-one sessions at Y events. Many of them expressed how much they hate smoking, and they shared stories of family members or friends that smoke and the negative effects it had on them. The best thing about my job with Y Do U Think? was the opportunity to work with the many creative, dynamic and smart youths in the southeastern part of Virginia."

www.ydouthink.com

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-- Sally Duff ('03)