New PSA says C isn't for Cookie - it's for Choices

The Cookie Monster would have you believe that "C is for Cookie." Cecil the Seal, however, will have you believing otherwise. The blue mascot is part of a new PSA campaign created by Cactus for Colorado's State Tobacco Education & Prevention Partnership (STEPP), which drives home the importance of choices to today's youth.

The two PSAs, directed by Jim Hosking of Biscuit and edited by Carlos Arias of Final Cut, direct kids to the OwnYourC.com website and feature the tagline, "C is for Choices."

"We were excited to work with talented guys like Carlos and Jim, and collaborate with Angelo (the producer) on production," says Norm Shearer, Cactus creative director. "It was important for us to partner with people who could take our irreverent ideas and turn them into sincere messages that would appeal to the discerning, critical teen audience."

For Carlos Arias, the campaign took a clever approach to speaking to teens.

"Kids are so sophisticated these days so we don't need to make the message obvious," explains Arias. "This is a new way of communicating with youth -- by not spoon-feeding them. Through great visuals and interesting stories, we were able to build up the intrigue. These PSAs had an interesting, short film style - like a throwback to 80s movies or branding commercials with sing-a-longs. They're just zany!"

The campaign will be rolled out on various youth-oriented outlets such as MTV, YouTube, and MySpace. Arias also credits the vision of the agency and Director Jim Hosking for injecting the right kind of sensibility and humor into the spots.

"The team at Cactus was very flexible and fun to work with," concludes Arias. "It was great to be part of such a different and edgy campaign. And I've collaborated with Jim Hosking on several projects so this was definitely a good marriage on a creative level."