Advertising & promotion

RJ Reynolds : Black Americans from different eras superimposed on banner of American flag. Parchment background.

Sponsorship is a form of advertising which enables us to introduce glamour and excitement

Michael Whitbread, Gallaher International, Hong-Kong, 1986

Quotes from Claude Teague, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company

"Research Planning Memorandum on Some Thoughts About new brands of Cigarettes for the Youth Market"
February 2nd 1973

"Realistically, if our company is to survive and prosper, over the long term, we must get our share of the youth market. In my opinion this will require new brands tailored to the youth market…"

The Marlboro Man was the top ad icon of the 20th century according to Advertising Age

“We want more 18-34 year old blokes smoking B&H than ever before. We want to see these dudes ripping-up packets of Marlboro and Camel and treating them with the disdain that second rate, American filth deserves. For Christ’s sake what the hell are people doing smoking brands that are made to be smoked by cowhands and not by the youth of the trendiest, coolest, most happening country in the world. In many ways this brief is really a charity brief. Trying to help people recognise the error of their ways, thinking they are being cool smoking what Roy bloody Rogers smoked and opening their eyes to the unchallengeable truth that the coolest smoke in the world is a B&H.

We want to see Great British B&H in the Ben Sherman shirt pockets of Brit-popped, dance-crazed, Tequila drinking, Nike kicking, Fast Show watching, Loaded reading, Babe pulling, young gentlemen.

So what we need is the coolest, most exciting, white knuckle ride of a campaign ever”

Submission from CDP to the Health Committee House of Commons - Gallaher Creative Briefs 1998

“On December 10th 1999 all cigarette advertising will be banned in the UK. Any plans to launch new brands must be brought forward to beat the deadline. With this in mind Imperial Tobacco are launching a new low price brand called Richmond. Our task is to make a big splash in the last five weeks before the run out”

Mustoe Merriman Herring and Levy. Response to the ad ban, 10 August 1999

Smokers' Rights : Series of photos showing: ballot box; White female on phone; handshake; letter writing.

“Urban Venturers: Aged between 18-30, students/graduates just out of university, short of money but spend all they have on good nights out. They are very advertising literate, and consequently very wary of big brands latching on to aspects of their lifestyle and exploiting them. To this end Silk Cut needs to compliment the Renaissance imagery in an intriguing and stylish way”

M&C Saatchi. Renaissance/Silk Cut: Creative Brief for Gallaher, 7 May 1996

These are just a taste of some of the internal memos, briefs and documents from the tobacco industry.

How the companies recruit smokers

With increasing numbers of smokers quitting each year as well as around 5 million people dying of tobacco-related disease worldwide, it is crucial for the tobacco companies to ‘recruit’ new, loyal smokers to maintain their businesses.

Every year the tobacco industry spends billions of pounds worldwide advertising and promoting tobacco products. Tobacco advertising encourages children to start smoking and reinforces the social acceptability of smoking among adults. A report by the US Surgeon General summarised the impact of tobacco advertising. It argues that tobacco advertising increases consumption:

By encouraging children or young adults to experiment with tobacco and thereby slip into regular use
By encouraging smokers to increase consumption
By reducing smokers’ motivation to quit
By encouraging former smokers to return to smoking
By discouraging full and open discussion of the hazards of smoking as a result of media dependence on advertising revenues
By muting opposition to controls on tobacco as a result of the dependence of organisations receiving sponsorship from tobacco companies
By creating through the ubiquity of advertising, sponsorship, etc. an environment in which tobacco use is seen as familiar and acceptable and the health warnings are undermined

Reducing the health consequences of smoking: 25 years of progress. A report of the Surgeon General. USDHHS, 1989

Legislation and restrictions on tobacco advertising and promotion varies significantly from country to country.

Royals on-pack promotion in a Greenwich retail outlet, London.

In the UK

For example, most forms of tobacco advertising and promotion are now banned in the UK following the implementation of the Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act in 2002.

European Union

A partial ban on tobacco advertising also exists throughout the European Union as a result of a European Union Directive, however this is a lot more patchy compared to UK legislation. The UK Act, prohibits tobacco advertising in the print media and on billboards as well as direct mail and other promotions. Cigarette advertising was also banned from UK television in 1965 under powers granted by the Television Act 1964.

Advertising bans and restrictions on promotion have proven to be effective.

In the UK, smokers who noticed less advertising and promotion were 1½ times more likely to attempt to quit.(see : http://www.fctc.org/factsheets/9.pdf) However, tobacco companies have found other ways of getting their product logos and branding out there, on view particularly to young people. Promotional items, such as backpacks, t-shirts and caps are used a lot by tobacco companies and prove very popular with young people.

In some countries, the tobacco industry sponsors social events such as concerts which are all the rage with young people. Although banned in the UK, sponsorship of sporting and art events by the tobacco industry is still common practice.

Through the back door

Less obvious ways of increasing brand/company awareness is through grant giving and professorships. For example, £3.8 million from British American Tobacco led to the creation of the International Centre for Corporate Social Research based at the University of Nottingham, UK. BAT-Ghana contributed 250 Ghanian Cedi (US $30,000) to the University of Ghana, Legon, for the Jubilee Hall fund.

There has been recognition that a comprehensive ban on advertising and promotion would reduce consumption of tobacco. Internationally, countries are at very different stages on the journey to achieving this.

To view some of the imaginative ways in which tobacco products have been advertised over the years as well as other ways the tobacco industry infiltrates organisations follow the links below: