Mary Quits

Reporter: Odette Yousef

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Script

HOST: There's an edgy new marketing technique aimed at smokers. It combines reality TV with the traditional anti-smoking message. The campaign is called Maryquits ... and it's being waged primarily online. Intern Edition's Odette Yousef set out to find out just Who is Mary? And is she helping other people quit?

ODETTE YOUSEF: In Washington, D.C., radio listeners may have been privy to this hushed conversation between three fictional office workers. On a work break, they huddle together to place bets on Mary's chances of resisting cigarettes for one day:

VOICE OVER 1: What do you want on Mary vs. cigarettes?
VOICE OVER 3: I don't know. So you're going with Mary?
VOICE OVER 2: Yeah, but...
VO3: Oh, I don't know. Is she going out tonight?
VO1: Yeah. I think some joint in Adams Morgan.
VO3: Oh, no. No way. She's not gonna make it.
VO2: You don't think so?
VO3: No way. Here's 50 on the smokes.

OY: Mary's real name is Tonya Guess. She's 27 and lives in DC. She smoked for 8 years, and had tried to quit three times before. But last summer, she made her fourth attempt, and invited the world to watch online.

The daily video clips are not scripted or rehearsed. Visitors to Maryquits.com see Tonya at work, at home, with her fiance, and with her family. We see Tonya swing from the ups:

MARY: Today is the 2nd day that I've quit smoking. I feel good, I feel good.

OY: To the downs...

MARY: I've had another slip up. I didn't want to admit that, but I've had another slip up. Another cigarette butt, another four...four puffs. And I'm not proud of it.

OY: Bringing viewers into the life of a smoker who is quitting is not new. The campaign was created by the American Legacy Foundation. The foundation is a national, independent organization born out the 1999 settlement between the industry and 46 states. Last summer, Legacy piloted a similar campaign in New York, called Bobquits.

Traditional quit smoking ads have shown graphic pictures of diseased lungs, or emphasized the risks of cancer. After listening to focus groups, Legacy realized that these ads don't work. Instead of scaring smokers, they needed to teach them how to quit.

Dr. Cheryl Healton, is the president and CEO of the Legacy Foundation:

CHERYL HEALTON: ...we're in a new world and new day, and sort of the buzz of the day is reality TV. If people don't know how to quit, a great way of having them learn to quit is to watch someone else struggle, and make them comfortable with the struggle.

OY: With the help of a talent scout, Legacy looked for the right person to take on the role of Mary. Tonya was approached at her job at an education nonprofit while on an afternoon cigarette break.

MARY: I didn't exactly understand what I was getting myself into. But there was pressure on both ends. Pressure to stop smoking, and then pressure to continue to smoke just because this was a new experience and usually that's what I would do when a new experience came my way.

OY: Tonya succeeded in kicking her habit. She was filmed in August, and is still smoke-free. But the bigger question is: are smokers getting her message?

It's hard to tell. Legacy estimates at least 50 thousand people have visited the site, but there's no data on who the visitors are, or how it affects them. On a more technical note, not everyone has access to the high-speed internet connection needed to watch it. But what do smokers say about the site?

MIKE ELDER: In a sense, for me, it was almost like having a buddy to quit with.

OY: Mike Elder has been smoking on and off for 5 years. He is currently in his fourth attempt to quit.

ME: Every smoking cessation site will tell you need the support of other people. And the difference with Maryquits is that in a way, in a strange way, Mary is another person that supports you.

OY: And that's exactly what Tonya wanted to do. She intends to continue to work with the Legacy Foundation, and encourage people like Mike to stick with it.

For Intern Edition, this is Odette Yousef.

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