Update: We’ve awarded all ten prizes & 500+ people asked Supercool Agency to lose the cig.  See below for more on the prizes.  Click here for a full listing of those who joined this twitter-based anti-tobacco movement.

If you’ve been following the Path of the Blue Eye Project over the past year, you know that we are big fans of superheroes.  After all, we published a comic featuring a dimension hopping health marketing expert named Specto Laurus.  So, you know that we love creativity and innovation — especially if it’s animated.

However, we’re also in the business of helping people engage in healthier behaviors and smoking is certainly not healthy (as a former smoker, I know this from personal experience). This is why people like my friend and colleague Nedra Weinreich have been working with the entertainment industry to snuff out images of smoking in TV, films, advertisements and other media.  (Of course period pieces like the popular show “Mad Men” are an exception.)  The plan is to reduce smoking by limiting our exposure to imagery depicting smoking as a “cool” behavior.

So, imagine my surprise when I learned that Supercool, a digital creative agency, had created a logo/mascot featuring a Superman-like character with a cigarette in his mouth and a cloud of smoke around his ears.  Is the agency saying that it’s super cool to smoke?

One person, Connecticut-based actor & instructional technologist Gary Ploski (@GaryPloski), does not think Supercool’s smoking superhero is a good idea.  He’s launched an effort to get the company to snuff out its smoking mascot and replace it with a more heart healthy image.  Here’s the catch, the company won’t make a move unless it receives 500 tweets using the hashtag #LoseTheCig.

Because the Path of the Blue Eye Project is all about supporting and promoting healthy behaviors, I’ve decided to lend the Project’s support to Ploski’s effort.  Here’s the deal:

• If you’d like Supercool’s smoking hero to go the way of the dodo, please RT the following: 
  
  • “@SupercoolAgency, @blueeyepath and friends ask you to #LoseTheCig + ditch the smoking superhero”
  • OR some variation of “@SupercoolAgency, #losethecig”
    
• We need to generate 300 178 90 more tweets to convince Supercool to take action
  
• Here’s your incentive: We’re giving away 10 9 6 2 special secret prizes to 10 9 6 2 random people who join our Twitter cause
  • We gave 1 secret prize to @chamberlainwill on April 27; We made a $25 donation on his behalf to the American Cancer Society, see proof of his donation here [PDF]
  • We announced 3 secret prize winners on May 12 to (they opted to have their prizes donated to the American Heart Association and American Lung Association, see proof of these donations here [PDF] @ChrissyPeters90 @lozzola @FightForAirNY
  • We announced 4 secret prize winners on May 14 to @TobaccoFreeKids, @CYANsocialmedia, @scoutout, @adincmiller;
    • We made a $25 donation to Tobacco Free Kids on May 14 see proof of this donation here [PDF]
    • @CYANsocialmedia asked that their prize be donated to Tobacco Free Kids; see proof of this donation here [PDF]
    • @scoutout and @adincmiller opted to give their prize to the 500th unique “@Supercoolagency #losethecig” tweet
      • @KLajeunesse was the 500th person to tweet @Supercoolagency #losethecig. She donated her $50 donation to the Albany Vegetarian Network; see proof of this donation here [PDF]
  • We announced the final 2 secret prize winners on May 19 to @sevinfo, @Yoga_Glow
    • @sevinfo asked that her prize be donated to Half the Sky, which supports China’s orphaned children.  See proof of this donation here [PDF]

Let’s get started!

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Read More from Walking the Path:

1. The Own Your C Anti-Smoking Campaign
2. When it Comes to Promoting Health, Saying “You’re Bad” Is Often Not Good
3. Public Health Communicators: You’ve Captured the Flag, Now What Do You Do With It?