Local Ad Agencies Launch Anti-tobacco Campaign.

• Author: Kimball, Suzanne

YES, I MIND IF YOU SMOKE

The Utah Department of Health recently awarded $1.5 million of Utah's tobacco settlement money to Crowell & Associates and Love Communications for a statewide anti-tobacco media campaign. The two Salt Lake advertising firms formed a partnership in an effort to win the contract from the State. The new campaign will expand upon the existing "Truth From Youth" tobacco prevention campaign, which Crowell & Associates has coordinated for the UDOH for the past three years.

"I don't think we would have won the contract without combining our efforts with Love," says Tracy Crowell of Crowell & Associates. "And besides, the $1.5 million is triple the amount we were receiving over a three-year period from state tax funds for the Truth From Youth campaign."

GURUS WITH A CAUSE

Anyone who's purchased fast food knows what it's like to be greeted by a kid with a blank stare and a chip on his shoulder. Unfortunately, less than great service is all too common in today's fast food industry. But a new chain of Utah restaurants called Gurus, hopes to change that.

Gurus, which launched its first restaurant at 900 South and 900 East in Salt Lake City 16 months ago, has been receiving national recognition for its unique philosophy of encouraging its customers and employees to give back to others. And while the food is good (burritos, rice bowls, pastas and salads), and is delivered in less than five minutes, it's who's behind the counter that's the real news.

"If you look around at the kids working here," says Chase Peterson, former University of Utah president and a Gurus investment partner, "you could presume that these kids are kind of 'funky' and maybe kind of counterculture and counterbusiness. But I think the genius of the Gurus concept is that it promotes a 'wholesome funkiness.' The kids aren't zonked out on drugs and they're not destroying themselves, and when you ask if they like working at Gurus, the response is always the same, 'Oh, I love it!' That's not because they get paid a lot either; it's because of the quality of the other kids with whom they work."

Gurus co-founder Kevin Hall gives credit for the restaurant's good customer service to its young employees. "When was the last time you came to a fast food restaurant where the kids moved quickly and gave out smiles?" asks Hall.

Does Gurus seek out at-risk kids? "We hire any teenager who thinks he or she might be able to make a go of it at Gurus and sometimes that includes a...