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British Heart Foundation's new ad campaign will take a less aggressive approach to anti-smoking.

The British Heart Foundation has appointed both Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R and Lowe as a precursor to a change of tactics in its £7 million anti-smoking campaign.

The switch follows concern that the current aggressive campaign, which warns of the serious health consequences of cigarettes, may eventually prove counter-productive and alienate smokers.

It is understood that Lowe has been briefed to produce TV advertising to succeed the "fatty cigarette" campaign by Euro RSCG London.

At the same time, RKCR/Y&R is believed to be creating a longer-term initiative involving fundraising, as well as ads to run in tandem with the Department of Health's more aggressive campaign.

James Murphy, the RKCR/Y&R chief executive, declined to go into details of the agency's assignment but confirmed: "We will be doing a campaign for the BHF in the spring of next year."

The BHF announced in March that it was putting its business up for pitch despite the success of its high-profile work through Euro RSCG, which did not repitch.

The DoH is keen for the BHF to continue with its anti-smoking initiative, which is said to have helped more than one million people give up. However, more than 112,000 Britons a year still die from smoking-related diseases.

The BHF ads have been attempting to scare smokers into quitting with a television campaign showing fat dripping from cigarettes and the warning: "Give up before you clog up."

This tactic has been mirrored in DoH advertising through Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO and Kitcatt Nohr Alexander Shaw, which was unveiled earlier this month and is appearing on national television, radio, in press ads and on poster sites.

One ad, aimed at men, warns that smoking can result in impotence and erectile dysfunction. Meanwhile, female smokers are being told it can lead to cellulite, bad breath and wrinkles.