Cancer Council Victoria has partnered with Think HQ and its multicultural specialist team CultureVerse to launch an anti-smoking campaign titled 'The Hanky'.

The campaign is part of Quit, a program of Cancer Council Victoria, and targets populations with higher smoking rates than the average Victorian population, specifically Arabic, Mandarin, and Vietnamese speakers.

The campaign assets have been translated into Arabic, Mandarin, and Vietnamese, demonstrating a targeted approach to reach these specific communities.

Head of Media and Communications at Cancer Council Victoria, Kelly Dienaar, said: "We’re deeply committed to supporting multicultural communities and ensuring that we see smoking rates decline across priority population groups. It’s been meaningful to see this important campaign come to life. We hope it will motivate more Arabic, Vietnamese and Chinese speaking people to start their quitting journey."

The campaign aims to convince target audiences that every cigarette is harmful, even if they don't smoke every day. It highlights the short-term signs and long-term impacts of smoking, with a focus on respiratory health. The campaign includes additional activities such as webinars with health professionals. Campaign materials include videos, audio spots, social assets, posters, and website copy.

Head of CultureVerse, Jessica Billimoria, said: "The Quit campaign delivers critical health messages where they are needed, built on a powerful concept and communicated in the language of each target group. We are proud to have delivered Quit’s bespoke campaign to motivate multicultural communities to change their smoking behaviours."

The campaign launched on 7 October and will run until 16 November 2024.