FLIP THE VAPE – A Community-Led Anti-Vaping Campaign

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  • 2025

  • Social Impact

Designed By:

Commissioned By:

Victorian Aboriginal Health Service (VAHS)

Salomae Haselgrove, Marketing and Communications

Lionel Austin, Manager of the Preventative Health Unit

Designed In:

Australia

FLIP THE VAPE is a bold anti-vaping campaign created with and for First Nations youth. Rejecting scare tactics, it centres real voices and reframes quitting as strength. Developed by Mo Works, the campaign empowers communities through culturally resonant storytelling across digital, social, and environmental platforms — and drives meaningful change.


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  • CHALLENGE
  • SOLUTION
  • IMPACT
  • MORE

  • Knowing that traditional health messaging can feel patronising and ineffective, the challenge was to create a culturally relevant anti-vaping campaign for First Nations people that would resonate and that they could truly own. A solution that spoke their language, visually reflected their values, and symbolised their power as young people to affect and transform others in and outside the community. We needed to optimise the campaign budget to get the most impact from coverage in the areas where our community lived, and we needed to work quickly to get the campaign ready for the new school year in February.

  • We developed a mobile-first campaign using bold typography, streetwear-inspired layouts, and layered visual storytelling featuring real Aboriginal youth ambassadors. The palette is rooted in the original Koori Way brand colours, maintaining brand integrity while introducing amplified vibrancy for screen use, with red, yellow and black used as a nod to the Aboriginal flag. Messaging like “Flip the vape, be a quitter” reframes quitting as an act of power. With a responsive design system and accessibility-first principles, the campaign works across print, outdoor, and digital. Every element was co-designed and tested with young people to ensure resonance, relevance, and authenticity.

  • ‘Flip the Vape’ shifted the anti-smoking narrative by positioning Aboriginal ambassadors front and centre throughout all designs. This community-led design resulted in strong engagement across regions and platforms, with high pickup on social media and overwhelmingly positive feedback. Youth participants reported feeling seen, heard, and proud to be involved. The campaign helped reframe quitting not as weakness, but as cultural strength and personal choice, sparking meaningful dialogue around vaping within communities.

  • - Co-designed with Aboriginal youth and community leaders - Bold, rebellious tone rooted in peer-driven messaging - Modular, mobile-first design system adaptable across platforms - Culturally relevant colour palette referencing the Aboriginal flag - Accessibility-focused (WCAG 2.1 compliant) - Streetwear/editorial-inspired visuals for maximum youth appeal - Inclusive imagery showcasing real people, not stock models - Iterative prototyping and testing ensured authenticity and clarity