#NicIck: Turning the Feed Against Vaping

The Challenge

Youth vaping across the UK has risen significantly, but standard public health warnings often fail to engage younger demographics. The campaign needed to tackle this growing concern among people under 22 without resorting to preachy or alienating traditional messaging.

The Strategy

Brainlabs leveraged behaviour-change science to shift youth attitudes organically. Rather than issuing direct warnings, the strategy focused on making vaping socially unappealing by reframing it as an "ick" through authentic, culturally relevant creator content.

Execution and Innovation

Partnering with the Department of Health and Social Care and the NHS, the team launched the #NicIck campaign across TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat. Creators produced relatable, platform-native content that embedded subtle behaviour-change mechanics directly into everyday social feeds.

Results

The campaign delivered 12.2 million organic views, 150,000 shares, and an exceptional 10.04 per cent engagement rate. Crucially, a health department study confirmed significant attitudinal shifts: three in four young people acknowledged the health risks of vaping (up from two in three), and over half reported that the campaign made vaping appear noticeably less cool.

Judges' Verdict

"This sets an interesting standard for public communications via creators."