It’s Messing With Your Head

Vaping among teens has surged 46% in the last two years. So how do you get a generation to rethink the habit? You hit them where it hurts by launching a real fake vape company that calls nicotine what it really is – A Depression Stick.

At first, everything seemed legit. From the flashy flavors, to the ads on social, all the way to the market research and pop-up storefront. But behind the dupe was a hard truth: vaping is messing with your head.

We followed up the product launch with “Depression Stick TV”, an unhinged, TikTok ad network that ran Depression Stick ads all day, every day.

While Depression Stick may have been a fake brand, it directed teens to very real help from the Truth Initiative at DepressionStick.com where people gained access to mental health resources and quitting support.