• By Rebecca Thompson
• Posted Wednesday, December 21, 2011

TRU Ad Featuring Forsyth County Youth Wins National Award

Destini is a 2011 high school graduate from Winston-Salem with big dreams. Her smile hides the sadness of having lost her father to lung cancer. Destini was a daddy’s girl and has the tattoo to prove it. Now she lives without her father, missing out on so many things she’d want to share with him - and Destini faces the reality of what smoking can do and the fears of what might happen if her mother doesn’t quit.

Destini's story about losing her father to lung cancer caused by smoking is currently part of a statewide television campaign to prevent youth from using tobacco, and to encourage tobacco users to quit. Her commercial won the 2011 Multicultural Excellence Award of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA). The award was announced at a ceremony during the ANA's Multicultural Marketing & Diversity Conference in Miami in November.

The Destini ads won first place in the General Market category, up against companies like Miller Coors and General Motors. Established in 1998, the award helps to educate and inform ANA members on issues related to today's multicultural marketers and diversity leaders. A portion of the proceeds will be used to help fund scholarships for high-potential multicultural students who plan to pursue careers in advertising.

View the Destini Ads