STATE USING FREE BILLBOARD SPACE FOR FLASHY ANTI-SMOKING MESSAGE

No Ifs, Ands Or Butts About It.

Those animal billboards posted along the region's highways probably won't
persuade many drivers to kick smoking habits, experts say. But, hopefully,
Daddy or Mommy will have one or more kids in the back seat.

"They're really geared toward younger children. ... People think they're
funny," said Janet Williams, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Coalition
Against Tobacco.

But do the ads really work?

Dan Curry, a spokesman for Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan, had doubts
when he first was called in to review "Butts Are Gross" and a second ad with
animals smoking that declares "It Looks Just As Stupid When You Do It."

"When I saw the one - Butts Are Gross - I questioned whether someone might
think this in bad taste," said Curry of the ad, which shows the animals'
backsides along with a crushed cigarette butt.

After calls to state health officials in Minnesota, where the ad has run
successfully on television, Curry became convinced it could be a success
here, too.

"You have to grab kids' attention," Curry said.

"The world in which we live is bombarded with sensational messages. If you
don't have something that's a little bit provocative, it's not going to get
their attention."

Recommended by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in
Atlanta, the ads started showing up on billboards last month in place of
tobacco ads.

The cigarette advertisements were removed as part of a settlement with the
tobacco industry.

Illinois still hasn't received its $9.1 billion share of the settlement but
began the ad program immediately because the billboard space was available
for free, state officials said.

The state paid $15,000 for two anti-smoking animal ads that were provided by
State of Health Products, a Minnesota marketer, said Illinois Department of
Public Health spokesman Tom Schafer.

The billboard is being paid for by the tobacco companies that had rented 785
of them in some cases until early 2000 for their ads, Schafer said.

Installation also was free. The Outdoor Advertising Association of Illinois
paid to put the anti-smoking messages on billboards, Schafer said.

"I think it's very clever," said D. Joel Whalen, associate marketing
professor at the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business at DePaul University.
"I think the ad is so witty and different that it captures attention."

Don't expect the ads to be around for long, though.

The state has 400 entries from fourth-to sixth-graders at Illinois schools.
It's expected to pick one or more finalists for new billboard ads later this
month.

The new ads could go up by August.

"This is certainly not the end all and be all," said Williams. "We have
other campaigns in mind ... but that's down the road."