April
2002
Crazy,
but True World of Big Tobacco
Around the world, Big Tobacco is used to getting away with outrageous
practices that test the limits of how low corporations will go to make
a quick buck. Here are some of the industry's latest, crazy, but true
marketing strategies and gestures of "goodwill."
UKRAINE:
Using a Pregnant Woman to Peddle Cigarettes
Philip Morris is currently running an international marketing campaign
for its L & M cigarette brand. The theme? Global unity. In the Ukraine,
a series of related billboards show young men and women, along with
the names of famous cities like Stockholm, Bangkok, and Brasilia, and
the slogan "Flavor unites the world." As part of the campaign,
the company unveiled a billboard in January 2002 featuring a young couple
and the message "You are linked to Luxembourg." The man's
arm is wrapped protectively around the woman, his hand resting on her
visibly pregnant belly. International outcry forced Philip Morris to
remove the billboard.
PAKISTAN:
Celebrating Ramadan with a Cigarette
In December, Muslims around the world celebrated the Eid al-Fitr, the
feast marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan. In Pakistan, it
is popular for families to watch special television programs during
the three days of the holy celebration. Intent on capitalizing on the
festive atmosphere and the high volume of young viewers, the tobacco
industry marketed heavily on television during the Eid, even naming
one television program after the cigarette brand "Diplomat."
Pakistan's tobacco company is a subsidiary of British American Tobacco.
INDIA: Tobacco
Industry Gives Award to Man Who Deals in Dead Bodies
Red & White is a popular cigarette brand in India. It is marketed
by Godfrey Philips, a subsidiary of Philip Morris. For several years,
the company has given out Red & White Bravery Awards, as a means
of generating positive PR. The company spends considerably more money
advertising the award via newspaper, magazine, television, and film
ads than on the award itself. Most recently, the first prize award was
bestowed on a man who helps facilitate the transfer of dead bodies to
medical colleges to aid in training and research. Not surprisingly,
there was no mention of the tobacco industry's role in helping generate
dead bodies.
KENYA: Medical
Institute to Fight Malaria by Promoting Tobacco
British American Tobacco has donated a brand new car, bedecked with
the company's logo, to the Kenya Medical Research Institute. According
to Dr. Vulule, KMRI's Director for Vector Biology, the donation was
made by the firm in memory of a woman who contracted malaria in Congo
and later died in a Nairobi hospital. The donation, which also includes
a microscope, is intended to promote malaria control in the region.
Kenyan tobacco control advocates have called on KMRI to return the donation.
For more information and examples see:
http://www.essentialaction.org/tobacco/qofm/0201a.html