Premise
The entertainment industry has the ability to create, reinforce and normalize messages. The Office on Smoking & Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is but one of many organizations sharing the responsibility to encourage the denormalization of tobacco use in entertainment.

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On This Page • Strategies and Techniques • Working with Celebrities 101 • Terminology • Helpful Publications • Research • Helpful Organizations • Citations

Strategies and Techniques for Developing/Creating Entertainment Partnerships

Build relationships – with local television, radio and news personalities, actors, directors, organizations and agencies (including talent and sports agents). They remember you as a reliable and cooperative resource for information or referral.

• Join professional organizations (e.g., Public Relations Society of America [PRSA]), networking groups, and even fan clubs that may provide you access.
• Be familiar with resources in your own community – organizations, materials, and referrals.
• Know your topic, be confident, and view the entertainment industry as a partner – not an adversary.

Monitor the 'dailies' (e.g., Variety, Daily Variety, Hollywood Reporter, Entertainment Weekly) for upcoming movies and programs related to tobacco.

• Identify contacts and share your expertise and willingness to act as a resource when needed.
• Call and follow-up with a thank you letter. Reminder: creative productions, documentaries and local programming can take many years to develop and produce. Producers, directors, actors, and storylines can change in that time. It's important to stay persistent!

Identify the key contact by NAME! Do not send generic letters and expect them to be read or the contents aired.

• Use the Star Guide 2002–2003 (Star Guide includes more than 3,200 addresses of major stars from every field. Movies and TV, Music, Sports, Politics, Literature, and other Famous People)
• Or use the Celebrity Directory 2002–2003 (includes 9,000 listings).
  Use this Web link: http://www.addall.com/Browse/Detail/0943213312.html*
  
  (Also see Helpful Entertainment-related Publications below for contact information)

Monitor Internet sites and use E-mail and listservs to share messages about tobacco and media. To join the CDC entertainment listserv, simply provide your name and E-mail address below and click the Subscribe button.

Partner and collaborate with other similar-interest organizations – often national organizations can provide more resources to leverage media collaboration, especially with the entertainment industry (e.g., American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association).

Be aware of standards and practices (program practices), related to all non-news broadcast matter, including entertainment, sports and commercials for compliance with legal, policy, factual and community standards, that may affect working relationships with celebrities and the media. This can be done by making informational meetings with local and national broadcast standards and practices contacts at television stations (Program Practices Departments). Note that standards and practices applies to commercial, cable, and public broadcasting.

Localize – Contact your local television (news, talk shows), radio stations and newspapers with stories and ideas for programs. This is a great way of attracting local, state, and regional media.

• Use local expertise.
• Use local talent.
• Many states have their own film commission offices that serve to promote states as viable locations for productions and serve as resources to the creative community. You may want to contact your respective office, to serve as a local resource. See the Directory of State and Local Film Offices in the United States, Event Resource Guide at the following Web site.
  Use this Web link: http://www.proadvance.com/resourceguide/webresources/filmoffices.html*
  or contact resourceguide@proadvance.com*.

Host a briefing meeting for local broadcasters, writers/editors, and producers that report health and science news. Briefings might focus on potential storylines, presentations by people affected by the health issue, and writers, producers who have used the science.

Recognize good work. Write a letter, E-mail, or telephone the author or presenter of a storyline that depicts a pro-health or a non-use message. Send flowers or cookies!

Celebrity partnerships can develop by chance meetings, fan encounters, etc. Seize those opportunities, but don’t disturb the celebrity’s private time or space (e.g., dinner in a restaurant with family).

Organize debates about local issues affecting health and tobacco use.

Suggest that your local media launch a Web site connection offering educational information and advice – include OSH Web site and your local tobacco control project.

Publicize World No Tobacco Day or the Great American Smoke Out with posters, billboards, stickers or ribbons, and alert your local and national media of the date and theme for World No Tobacco Day or the Great American Smoke Out. Arrange a photo call for journalists around those activities with a strong visual element.

Plan with local media to hold a World No Tobacco Day sponsored walk, run, swim, or soccer match. Invite well-known athletes from the area to take part alongside individuals with tobacco-related diseases.

Carry out a survey of the impact of tobacco use and health effects on people in your local area and report the findings to the local media.

Contact politicians and celebrities with tobacco-related diseases to support your cause.

Locate people with tobacco-related diseases who could help you tell your story to the media.

Work with local media to present an award to smoke- and allergen-free establishments.

Plan a reception for celebrities and their families as well as with "ordinary" members of the public with tobacco-related diseases to attend.

Suggest a tobacco Question & Answer page or session to your national newspaper or radio station.

Organize an exhibition of tobacco advertisements from the past to the present – sponsored by the local media – at a local museum or other public site.

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Carefully consider the event, size, and audience reach before pursuing celebrity involvement. Will the event be a valuable use of the celebrity’s time, based upon the subject matter and audience to be reached?

Celebrities need specifics: who, what, where, when, for how long and WHY.

Reinforce egos! Remember birthdays, send cards, and send thank you notes.

Celebrities can be very labor intensive. Consider how much direct communication you have versus dealing in multiple layers of staff who may confuse communications and create problems for your organization.

It may be beneficial to work with public relations firms who specialize in entertainment partnerships.

It is important to consider the level of personal interest and commitment when partnering with celebrities. Although there are agencies that can find celebrities for events – there is often a high cost. If you have to pay an extraordinary fee for their appearance – is the use of the celebrity cost-beneficial to your organization and is the celebrity truly committed to the cause?

Be prepared to devote considerable staff, time (including after hours), and money (for travel, accommodations, and meals) toward the development of the project.

When developing messages, such as advertisements and public service announcements, allow the artist (and agent) the opportunity to review images and scripts and to comment and make recommendations for change. Then, implement modifications, as appropriate or needed. Allow the proper amount of advance time for clearance.

For more information about working with celebrities see:

Office of Cancer Communications, National Cancer Institute. (1989). Making Health Communication Programs Work: A Planner’s Guide.
 

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Artistic Freedom – Artistic expression that is protected by the First Amendment.

Censorship – The removal or suppression by a government or other ruling body of what is considered objectionable in books, films and other material.

Entertainment Education – The intentional placement of educational information and  materials in entertainment messages, including offering health facts, story ideas, and scripts to media producers, directors and writers developing entertainment programming.

Entertainment Media – Radio, movies, videos, television, records, audiotapes, compact discs, DVD’s, interactive media, Web sites, and may include magazines, posters, billboards, etc.

First Amendment – The first amendment prohibits the government from passing laws that restrict the freedom of speech and protects the public’s right to receive a variety of information free from government censorship.

Deglamorization** – De-emphasizing and discouraging the aura, appeal, glamour, and attractiveness of the subject (i.e., tobacco use)
** The creative community dislikes this term.

Denormalization – Decreasing the perception that the behavior (tobacco use) is commonplace and integral to "everyday" behavior.

Social responsibility – Going beyond one’s obligations to obey the law; having a desire to do the right thing and being prepared to give good reasons to justify one’s actions.

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Daily Variety
A recognized and respected entertainment trade publication, the source of entertainment news, exclusive reports, industry trends, box office information, production charts with global perspective, and analysis.

For further information and subscriptions, call (800) 552-3632 or (818) 487-4554 or Variety.com online at http://www.variety.com/ or (888) 674-5656/ (818) 487-4560.

Entertainment Weekly
An entertainment weekly publication, includes entertainment news, reviews, and stories on movies, television, DVD’s, music, books, videos, and pop culture.

Available at newsstands or by writing to Entertainment Weekly, PO Box 60001, Tampa, FL 33660-0001, USA, or call 1-800-828-6882. For on-line subscription go to http://www.ew.com/*

Hollywood Reporter
An entertainment daily with access to news stories and briefs, production charts, editorial archives, directory to entertainment industry's companies and executives, script sales, box office charts, and production listings.

Contact http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/* to subscribe.

2002–2003 Celebrity Directory
The guide to the addresses of more than 9,000 film and television stars, authors, politicians, recording artists, athletes, or the Star Guide 2002–2003.

Contact Axiom Information Resources, PO Box 8015-T6, Ann Arbor, MI 48107 or call (734) 761 4842, or contact on-line at http://www.celebritylocator.com/*

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Numerous research-based studies are available from published journals and on Internet sites. See http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/celebs.htm (Celebrities Against Smoking) for an updated listing of references to academic papers, reviews, case examples, and research abstracts on Tobacco and Entertainment Education.

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American Cancer Society
3333 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 900
Los Angeles, CA 90010
Telephone: (213) 368-8523

Contact: David Sampson, Director Media Relations

 

The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists

Los Angeles
5757 Wilshire Blvd., 9th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90036-3689
Telephone: (323) 634-8100

New York
260 Madison Ave., 7th Floor
New York, NY 10016-2402
Telephone: (212) 532-0800

 

American Film Institute (AFI) Screen Education Center
The American Film Institute
2021 North Western Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90027
Telephone: (323) 856-7600

http://www.afi.edu/*

 

American Heart Association
816 South Figueroa Street
Los Angeles, CA 90017
Telephone: (213) 291-7059

Contact: Steven Gallegos, Director Public Advocacy

Contact: Larry Bloustein, Director The Entertainment Group
3718 Vantage Avenue
Studio City, CA 91604
Telephone: (818) 760-8481

 

American Lung Association of California
424 Pendleton Way
Oakland, CA 94621
http://www.californialung.org/*

Contact: Andy Weisser, Vice President, Communications
PO Box 16400
Encino, CA 91416-6400
Telephone: (818) 757-1440 or (818) 703-6444

 

American Lung Association of Sacramento-Emigrant Trails
“Thumb Up! Thumbs Down” Program
909 12th Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
http://www.saclung.org/*

Contact: Kori Titus, Project Director
STARS and Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down
Telephone: (916) 444-5864, ext. 223

Contact: Curt Mekemson, Project Consultant
STARS and Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down
Telephone: (916) 488-4928

 

The Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers (AIVF)
304 Hudson Street, 6th floor
New York, NY 10013
Telephone: (212) 807-1400
http://ww.aivf.org/*

Regional Salons
http://www.aivf.org/regional/*

 

The Caucus for Television Producers, Writers and Directors
PO Box 11236
Burbank, CA 11236
Telephone: (818) 843-7572
http://www.caucus.org/*

 

The Center for Media Education
2120 L Street, NW, Suite 200
Washington, DC 20037
http://www.cme.org/*

Contact: Kathryn C. Montgomery, Ph.D., President
Telephone: (202) 331-7833

 

Centers for Disease Control & Prevention
Office on Smoking & Health
4770 Buford Hwy, MS K50
Atlanta, GA 30341
http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/
“Celebrities Against Smoking” at http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/celebs.htm

Entertainment Education – Contacts

Melissa Havard, Director Entertainment Initiative
CDC’s Office on Smoking & Health
269 S. Beverly Drive, #721
Beverly Hills, CA 90212

Susan Giarratano-Russell, Consultant Entertainment & Sports
CDC’s Office on Smoking & Health
1641 Santa Rosa Avenue
Glendale, CA 91208

Katy Curran, Director Tobacco-Free Sports Initiative
CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health
4770 Buford Highway, M-Stop K-50
Atlanta, GA 30341

 

Directors Guild of America
Los Angeles Headquarters
7920 Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90046
Telephone: (310) 289-2000 / (800) 421-4173
http://www.dga.org/*

 

Entertainment Industries Council, Inc
Second Floor
Production Building 22
500 South Buena Vista Street
Burbank, CA 91521-2110
Telephone: (818) 560-4231

Contact: Larry Deutchman, Senior Vice President
http://eiconline.org/*

 

Help Pregnant Smokers Quit Writers Project
National Partnership to Help Pregnant Smokers Quit
14572 Dickens St #304
Sherman Oaks CA 91403
http://www.smokefreefamilies.org*

Contact: Mary-Ann Neri
Telephone: (818) 508-2080

 

Marjorie I. Mitchell Multimedia Center
“I Saw It On TV . . . a guide to broadcast and cable programming sources”
Second Floor, South Tower of the University Library
1970 Campus Drive
Evanston, IL 60208-2300
http://www.library.northwestern.edu/media/resources/isawitontv.html*

Contact: Stephen Marek - Head
Telephone: (847) 467-6436 or (847) 491-7678

 

Mediascope
12711 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 440
Studio City, California 91604
http://www.mediascope.org/*

Contact: Donna Mitroff, PhD, President
Telephone: (818) 508-2080

Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)
15503 Ventura Blvd.
Encino, California 91436
Telephone: (818) 995-6600
http://mpaa.org/*

 

National Center for Tobacco Free Kids
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
1400 Eye Street, Suite 1200, Washington DC 20005
(202) 296 -5469
http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/*

Contact: Joel Spivak, Media Relations
Telephone: (202) 296-5469 ext. 3030

 

National Institute on Drug Abuse
Rm 5213, MSC 9561
6001 Executive Blvd
Bethesda, MD 20892-9591
http://www.drugabuse.gov/
Telephone: (301) 594-6148

Contact: Beverly Wyckoff Jackson, Chief, Public Information Branch
Telephone: (301) 443-1124

 

The Producers Guild of America, Inc.
8530 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 450
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
Telephone: (310) 358-9020
http://www.producersguild.org/*

 

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Route 1 and College Road East
PO Box 2316
Princeton, NJ 08543
http://www.rwjf.org/*

Contact: Joe Marx, Senior Communications Officer
Telephone: (888) 631-9989

 

Ruffian Entertainment
7015 Forbes Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 91406

Contact: Deirdre Imershein, Producer/Consultant
Telephone: (818) 780-2366

 

Screen Actors Guild (SAG)

Hollywood Office
5757 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036-3600
Telephone: (323) 954-1600
http://www.sag.org/*
[For your state or branch office]
New York Office
360 Madison Avenue 12th Floor
New York, New York 10017
Tel. (212) 944-1030
http://www.sag.org/*

 

SmokeFree Educational Services, Inc.
P.O. Box 905
New York, NY 10274-0905
http://www.smokefree.org/*

Contact: Joseph W. Cherner, President

 

Smokefree Movies
Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education
530 Parnassus, Suite 366
Box 1390
San Francisco, CA 94143 - 1390
http://www.smokefreemovies.ucsf.edu/*

Contact: Stanton A. Glantz, PhD, Director
Telephone: (415) 476-3893

 

Smoke-Free Kids, Inc.
PO Box 13886, Charleston, SC, 29422.
http://www.jeffreywigand.com/*

Contact: Dr. Jeffrey Wigand
Telephone: (843) 588-0016

 

UCLA Health & Media Research Group
School of Public Health
Suite 26-081
Box 951772
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772
Telephone: (310) 206-9548

Contact: Dr. Deborah Glik, ScD, Director

 

USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center
http://www.entertainment.usc.edu/hhs/*

Contact: Vicki Beck, Director
Hollywood, Health & Society
Telephone: (760) 431-6765 or (323) 782-3315

Contact: Mandy Shaivitz, MPH, Program Manager
Telephone: (323) 782-3322

 

Writers Guild of America (WGA)

WGA, West
7000 West Third Street
Los Angeles, CA 90048
Telephone: (323) 951-4000 (within Southern California)
Telephone: (800) 548-4532 (outside Southern California
Fax: (323) 782 4800
http://www.wga.org/*

WGA, East
555 West 57th Street, Suite 1230
New York, NY 10019.
Telephone: (212) 767-7800
Fax: (212) 582-1909
http://www.wgae.org/*

 

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American Lung Association of Sacramento-Emigrant Trails. (2000). Thumbs Up! Thumbs Down! A program to reduce tobacco use in movies. Retrieved January 21, 2003, from http://www.saclung.org/thumbs/*.

Dalton, M.A., Tickle, J.J., Sargent, J.D., Beach, M.L., Ahrens, M.B., & Heatherton, T.F. (2002). The incidence and context of tobacco use in popular movies from 1988 to 1997. Preventive Medicine, 34(5), 516-523.

DuRant, R.H., Rome, E.S., Rich, M., Allred, E., Emans, S.J., & Woods, E.R. (1997). Tobacco and alcohol use behaviors portrayed in music videos: A content analysis. American Journal of Public Health, 87(7), 1131-1135.

Dyak, B.L. (2000). Getting the media message straight: Entertainment Industries Council monitors motion picture industry for excess smoking, drinking or drug use in a movie. Behavioral Health Management, 20(4), 48.

Escamilla, G., Cradock, A.L., & Kawachi, I. (2000). Women and smoking in Hollywood movies: A content analysis. American Journal of Public Health, 90(3), 412-414.

Everett, S.A., Schnuth, R.L., & Tribble, J.L. (1998). Tobacco and alcohol use in top-grossing American films. Journal of Community Health, 23(4), 317-324.

Gerbner, G., & Ozyegin, N. (1997). Alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs in entertainment television, commercials, news, “reality shows,” movies, and music channels. Princeton, New Jersey: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Glantz, S. (2001). Smoking in teenagers and watching films showing smoking. British Medical Journal, 323, 1378-1379.

McCool, J.P., Cameron, L.D., & Petrie, K.J. (2001). Adolescent perceptions of smoking imagery in film. Social Science & Medicine, 52(10), 1577-1587.

McIntosh, W.D., Bazzini, D.G., Smith, S.M., & Wayne, S.M. (1998). Who smokes in Hollywood? Characteristics of smokers in popular films from 1940 to 1989. Addictive Behaviors, 23(3), 395-398.

Mekemson, C., & Glantz, S. (2002). How the industry built its relationship with Hollywood. Tobacco Control, 11(1), 181-191.

Pechmann, C., & Shih, C.F. (1999). Smoking scenes in movies and antismoking advertisements before movies: Effects on youth. Journal of Marketing, 63(3), 1.

Sargent, J.D., Beach, M.L., Dalton, M.A., Mott, L.A., Tickle, J., Ahrens, M.B., & Heatherton, T.F. (2001). Effect of seeing tobacco use in films on trying smoking among adolescents: Cross sectional study. British Medical Journal, 323, 1394-1397.

Sargent, J.D., Dalton, M.A., Beach, M.L., Mott, L.A., Tickle, J.J., Ahrens, M.B., & Heatherton, T.F. (2002). Viewing tobacco use in movies: Does it shape attitudes that mediate adolescent smoking? American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 22(3), 137-145.

Shields, D.L., Carol, J. (1999). Hollywood on tobacco: How the entertainment industry understands tobacco portrayal. Tobacco Control, 8(4), 378-386.

Stockwell, T.F., & Glantz, S. (1997). Tobacco use is increasing in popular films. Tobacco Control, 6, 282-284.

Thompson, K.M., & Yokota, F. (2001). Depiction of alcohol, tobacco, and other substances in G-rated animated feature films. Pediatrics, 107(6), 1369-1374.

World Health Organization. (2000). Women and tobacco: Moving from policy to action (Part 2 of 2). Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 78(7), 895.

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This page last reviewed May 14, 2004

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