Just the other day, en route to school, my husband and daughters ended up walking behind a smoker on the street.
The three of them immediately talked about how “gross” they think smoking is. My younger daughter, who’s 7, asked why someone would start to smoke in the first place, according to my husband.
Then, my nearly-9-year-old said she read a book in which a guy wouldn’t kiss a girl because she smoked.
It’s exactly that sentiment — that smokers may be considered less attractive, appealing or desirable — that a provocative new music video, which will air during the Grammys, hopes to capitalize on to persuade teens never to start smoking in the first place.
The video plays off the term “left swipe,” which with the popularity of dating apps like Tinder and OKCupid has come to define someone as unattractive.
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Koval would not reveal the cost of airing the 60-second version during the Grammys but said the move clearly represents a “significant” investment.
“It’s very hard to aggregate live audiences of young people, the moments when you can do that are far and few between, so we want to take advantage of them,” she said.
“We know that youth will be watching.”
And the hope is that they won’t just watch but will share the video on social media along with the hashtag #LeftSwipeDat.
Do you think this new anti-smoking music video will impact teens? Share your thoughts with Kelly Wallace on Twitter or CNN Living on Facebook.
