Tobacco Advertising Strategies ebooksclub.org Tobacco or Health Physiological and Social Damages Caused by Tobacco Smoking Second Edition

Council฀of฀Ministers฀issued฀a฀directive฀on฀the฀phased฀restriction฀of฀tobacco฀advertising฀and฀ tobacco฀controls฀to฀prohibit฀promotional฀activities฀from฀mid-2001฀onwards฀ [9] .฀The฀direc- tive฀foresees฀that,฀from฀2006฀onwards,฀tobacco฀advertising฀will฀only฀be฀permitted฀in฀tobac- conist฀and฀kiosk฀outlets.฀It฀is฀incomprehensible฀that฀Germany,฀along฀with฀Austria,฀has฀done฀ everything฀possible฀to฀evade฀this฀ban,฀alleging฀that฀it฀“violates฀the฀advertising฀industry’s- freedom฀ of฀ speech฀ and฀ right฀ to฀ exercise฀ its฀ profession,฀ and฀ contravenes฀ the฀ ownership฀ rights฀of฀the฀brand฀manufacturers.”฀The฀largest฀sums฀of฀money฀are฀spent฀on฀outdoor฀adver- tising฀and฀sponsorship฀Fig.฀ 13.3 ฀ [8] ,฀whereas฀advertising฀spend฀in฀magazines฀and฀news- papers฀ has฀ seen฀ a฀ continuous฀ decline฀ over฀ several฀ years.฀ In฀ practical฀ terms,฀ tobacco฀ advertising฀no฀longer฀plays฀a฀major฀role฀on฀the฀radio฀or฀in฀specialist฀periodicals,฀but฀con- tinues฀to฀do฀so฀in฀popular฀magazines฀ [8] . Increasingly,฀there฀are฀demands฀for฀the฀tobacco฀industry฀also฀to฀adopt฀manufacturer฀and฀ product฀liability.฀There฀are฀initial฀signs฀that฀product฀liability฀experts฀are฀also฀being฀trained฀ to฀monitor฀the฀tobacco฀industry฀and฀the฀prevailing฀climate฀of฀market฀manipulation฀ [10] . The฀tobacco฀industry฀pursues฀several฀objectives฀in฀its฀cigarette฀advertising฀as฀follows: To฀encourage฀children฀and฀adolescents฀wherever฀possible฀to฀start฀smoking฀and฀subse- •฀ quently฀to฀become฀habitual฀smokers To฀undermine฀smokers’฀motivation฀to฀quit฀smoking •฀ To฀encourage฀ex-smokers฀to฀take฀up฀the฀habit฀again •฀ To฀counteract฀declining฀sales฀ •฀ [11,฀12] In฀addition,฀the฀tobacco฀industry฀wants฀to฀portray฀a฀positive฀image฀of฀smoking฀and฀enhance฀ its฀social฀acceptability฀ [11,฀13] . The฀tobacco฀industry฀claims฀unjustiiably฀that฀all฀its฀advertising฀activities฀are฀targeted฀ at฀adults฀and฀that฀its฀campaigns฀focus฀exclusively฀on฀“distribution฀battles”฀between฀differ- ent฀cigarette฀brands. As฀illustrated฀in฀Fig.฀ 13.4 ,฀which฀summarises฀the฀indings฀of฀a฀US฀group฀based฀on฀smok- ing฀initiation฀rates฀calculated฀from฀the฀number฀of฀adolescents฀who฀started฀smoking฀regu- larly฀during฀a฀given฀year฀divided฀by฀the฀number฀of฀those฀at฀risk฀to฀start฀smoking฀in฀that฀year,฀ the฀rise฀in฀cigarette฀consumption฀among฀adolescents฀is฀determined฀by฀major฀advertising฀ Newspapers, journals, radio, TV cinema Out-door advertising Sponsoring 20 40 80 60 100 120 140 Expenses [Mio €] Fig. 13.3 ฀฀฀Percentage฀ breakdown฀of฀promotional฀ expenditure฀by฀the฀tobacco฀ industry฀in฀1997:฀total฀ expenditure฀DM฀682฀ million.฀ Because฀of฀the฀ advertising฀ban฀in฀these฀ media,฀only฀diversiication฀ products฀e.g.฀Camel฀ footwear฀were฀taken฀into฀ account฀ [8] events.฀Overall,฀the฀initiation฀rate฀among฀adolescent฀girls฀correlates฀with฀the฀tobacco฀indus- try’s฀advertising฀spend฀Fig.฀ 13.4 ฀ [14] . Direct฀promotion฀takes฀the฀form฀of฀advertisements,฀posters,฀promotional฀ilms,฀camou- laged฀advertising฀and฀Internet฀campaigns฀such฀as฀the฀Philip฀Morris฀Wavenet฀campaign฀in฀ Australia฀ [15] ,฀which฀has฀tie-ins฀with฀dance฀events฀and฀nightly฀fashion฀shows฀for฀the฀rela- tively฀large฀number฀of฀registered฀Wave฀members,฀sales฀promotions฀and฀distribution฀of฀ sample฀ packs฀ and฀ sample฀ cigarettes,฀ for฀ example,฀ at฀ political฀ party฀ meetings,฀ many฀ of฀ which฀may฀be฀at฀least฀partly฀inanced. Indirect฀promotion฀brand฀stretching฀is฀evident฀in฀the฀appearance฀of฀cigarette฀brand฀ names฀on฀other฀products,฀for฀instance,฀in฀the฀inancial฀support฀provided฀for฀sports฀and฀ music฀events฀and฀in฀the฀distribution฀of฀promotional฀items.฀In฀currency฀terms,฀Formula฀One฀ motor฀ racing฀ alone฀ swallows฀ up฀ 9-igure฀ sums฀ each฀ year:฀ a฀ single฀ grand฀ prix฀ event฀ is฀ expected฀to฀attract฀some฀73,000฀adolescents,฀of฀whom฀more฀than฀9,000฀will฀become฀ciga- rette฀smokers฀ [16,฀17] .฀The฀combined฀use฀of฀posters,฀cinema฀adverts฀depicting฀scenes฀of฀ outstanding฀natural฀beauty฀and฀printed฀ads฀in฀a฀wide฀variety฀of฀magazines฀achieves฀long- term฀effects฀in฀future฀users.฀Furthermore,฀tobacco฀products฀in฀shops฀tend฀to฀be฀displayed฀in฀ prominent฀positions฀ [18] .฀All฀these฀activities฀serve฀to฀create฀a฀pro-tobacco฀industry฀attitude฀ in฀politicians฀and฀the฀general฀public฀see฀ Chap.฀14 . In฀the฀USA,฀expenditure฀on฀ads฀has฀fallen฀markedly฀since฀1970s,฀whereas฀expenditure฀ on฀added-value฀promotion฀smokers฀purchasing฀a฀pack฀of฀cigarettes฀receive฀a฀second฀pack฀ free฀or฀a฀credit฀voucher฀has฀actually฀increased฀ [19] .฀The฀following฀list฀summarises฀the฀ principal฀changes฀in฀marketing฀forms฀used฀by฀the฀tobacco฀industry: ’79 ’80 ’81 ’82 ’83 ’84 ’85 ’86 Calendar year Total marketing Adolescents 14–17 years Initiation Rate [ ] Tobacco Marketing Expenditure billions ’89 1 2 3 4 6 5 4 3 2 1 7 ’87 ’88 Fig. 13.4 ฀฀฀Initiation฀rates฀฀for฀adolescent฀smokers฀for฀the฀period฀1979–1989,฀based฀on฀a฀study฀ from฀the฀USA,฀in฀comparison฀with฀promotional฀expenditure฀by฀the฀tobacco฀industry,฀corrected฀for฀ inlationary฀increases฀ [14] Incentive฀payments฀to฀tobacco฀retailers฀ •฀ [18] Promotional฀allowances฀in฀outlets฀in฀prime฀locations,฀where฀appropriate,฀using฀special฀ •฀ display฀cabinets฀or฀stands฀at฀the฀point฀of฀sale฀ [18,฀20] Adverts฀in฀journals฀or฀daily฀newspapers฀and฀in฀cinema฀commercials฀or฀ilms฀with฀or฀ •฀ without฀actors฀ [21,฀22] Adverts฀on฀free-standing฀hoardings฀sometimes฀oversized;฀outdoor฀advertising •฀ As฀transit฀system฀signs,฀inancial฀support฀for฀sports฀events฀Formula฀One฀motor฀racing;฀ •฀ currently฀symbolised฀by฀Marlboro฀Man฀Michael฀Schumacher;฀sponsorship฀ [23] Using฀attractive฀model฀girls฀to฀distribute฀free฀sample฀packs฀either฀on฀the฀street฀at฀specially฀ •฀ erected฀stands฀or,฀in฀Germany,฀for฀example,฀at฀political฀party฀meetings฀ [10,฀24–26] In฀contrast฀with฀the฀energy฀and฀drive฀that฀characterise฀its฀advertising฀efforts,฀the฀tobacco฀ industry฀does฀virtually฀nothing฀to฀educate฀people฀about฀the฀health฀hazards฀of฀continued฀ smoking฀ [9,฀27,฀28] .฀The฀industry฀has฀identiied฀women฀as฀a฀prime฀target฀for฀its฀advertis- ing:฀a฀study฀of฀316฀magazine-years฀has฀reported฀that฀women’s฀magazines฀carrying฀ciga- rette฀advertisements฀have฀only฀a฀5฀probability฀of฀publishing฀an฀article฀educating฀their฀ readers฀about฀the฀hazards฀of฀smoking฀ [29] .฀The฀probability฀of฀smoking฀hazard฀coverage฀ was฀still฀only฀11.7฀in฀magazines฀that฀did฀not฀carry฀cigarette฀advertisements฀ [29] . Cigarette฀advertising฀with฀its฀large-format฀posters฀is฀targeted฀primarily฀at฀young,฀future฀ smokers฀because฀older฀dependent฀smokers฀do฀not฀need฀advertising.฀According฀to฀comments฀ from฀the฀R.J.฀Reynolds฀Tobacco฀Company:฀“Kids฀don’t฀pay฀attention฀to฀cigarette฀ads฀…฀our฀ advertising฀purpose฀is฀to฀get฀smokers฀of฀competitive฀products฀to฀switch฀…฀which฀is฀virtually฀ the฀only฀way฀a฀cigarette฀brand฀can฀meaningfully฀increase฀its฀business”฀ [30] .฀Even฀previously฀ non-smoking฀groups฀have฀become฀preferred฀targets,฀for฀example,฀in฀Asia฀where฀women฀are฀ starting฀to฀smoke฀after฀intensive฀promotion฀of฀exclusively฀female฀brands฀ [31] .฀The฀industry฀ does฀not฀engage฀in฀major฀price฀struggles฀that฀lead฀to฀redistribution฀among฀the฀various฀brands. The฀cigarette฀industry฀does฀not฀appear฀to฀be฀encountering฀a฀saturated฀market฀because฀ there฀is฀no฀evidence฀to฀indicate฀falling฀sales฀or฀reduced฀promotional฀expenditure฀ [30,฀32] .฀ Advertising฀campaigns฀for฀cigarettes฀have฀never฀been฀directed฀against฀a฀fellow฀competitor฀ or฀against฀a฀speciic฀brand,฀signs฀that฀would฀be฀indicative฀of฀attempts฀to฀capture฀a฀market฀ segment฀ [33] .฀In฀this฀context,฀it฀should฀be฀recalled฀that฀the฀cigarette฀market฀is฀dominated฀ by฀a฀small฀number฀of฀companies฀across฀the฀world,฀who฀appear฀to฀have฀reached฀agreement฀ among฀themselves฀ [33] . The฀compulsive฀need฀to฀advertise฀is฀the฀result฀of฀several฀processes฀as฀follows: Smokers฀quit฀the฀habit฀daily,฀either฀because฀they฀simply฀decide฀to฀stop฀or฀out฀of฀neces- •฀ sity฀on฀health฀grounds Smokers฀die฀1,096฀peopleday฀in฀the฀USA฀and฀309฀peopleday฀in฀Germany •฀ New฀smokers฀have฀to฀be฀recruited฀ •฀ [34] ฀and฀these฀are฀to฀be฀found฀only฀among฀under- age฀adolescents฀in฀Germany,฀about฀1฀million฀annually฀ [33] In฀Germany,฀approximately฀75฀million฀EUR฀was฀spent฀on฀cigarette฀advertising฀in฀1996฀ [35] .฀In฀the฀USA,฀the฀tobacco฀industry฀has฀spent฀US฀6,000฀million฀on฀advertising฀and฀ promotion.฀ Sums฀ such฀ as฀ these฀ are฀ not฀ spent฀ if฀ no฀ new฀ smokers฀ are฀ to฀ be฀ recruited.฀ According฀ to฀ estimates฀ from฀ 1987,฀ the฀ aggregate฀ proitability฀ of฀ brand฀ switching฀ was฀ approximately฀US฀382฀million,฀i.e.฀16฀of฀the฀total฀promotional฀spend฀ [36] .฀Smokers฀ remain฀loyal฀to฀the฀same฀cigarette฀brand฀for฀years฀or฀merely฀switch฀from฀a฀stronger฀to฀a฀ milder฀type฀of฀the฀same฀brand฀ [36] ,฀so฀there฀is฀no฀reason฀to฀assume฀changes฀in฀the฀market.฀ Fewer฀than฀10฀of฀smokers฀in฀the฀USA฀switch฀cigarette฀brands;฀moreover,฀since฀these฀ tend฀ to฀ be฀ older฀ smokers฀ and฀ are฀ beginning฀ to฀ report฀ health฀ problems,฀ they฀ hold฀ little฀ attraction฀in฀market฀terms.฀By฀contrast,฀the฀tobacco฀industry’s฀priority฀is฀to฀recruit฀adoles- cents,฀who฀are฀just฀embarking฀on฀their฀smoking฀career,฀to฀make฀them฀dependent฀smokers฀ who฀will฀show฀loyalty฀to฀the฀brand฀ [30,฀37] .฀According฀to฀internal฀memos฀from฀the฀ciga- rette฀industry:฀“Young฀smokers฀represent฀the฀major฀opportunity฀group฀for฀the฀cigarette฀ industry”฀and฀“If฀the฀last฀10฀years฀have฀taught฀us฀anything,฀it฀is฀that฀the฀industry฀is฀domi- nated฀by฀the฀companies฀who฀respond฀most฀effectively฀to฀needs฀of฀younger฀smokers”฀ [38] . The฀tobacco฀industry฀is฀extremely฀interested฀in฀getting฀its฀message฀through฀to฀adoles- cent฀consumers฀by฀siting฀billboards฀near฀their฀schools฀and,฀if฀possible,฀by฀combining฀these฀ with฀cigarette฀vending฀machines฀ [32,฀38–40] ;฀this฀is฀equally฀true฀in฀the฀USA,฀Germany฀ and฀the฀developing฀countries.฀Radio฀and฀TV฀commercials฀in฀the฀USA฀are฀scheduled฀to฀run฀ at฀times฀that฀are฀particularly฀popular฀with฀adolescents฀ [41] ;฀fortunately,฀this฀is฀not฀permit- ted฀in฀Germany฀ [42] .฀Over฀the฀past฀2฀or฀3฀decades,฀the฀developing฀countries฀have฀become฀ the฀target฀for฀the฀tobacco฀industry’s฀promotional฀endeavours฀ [43] . The฀ cigarette฀ industry฀ also฀ manufactures฀ “youth-oriented”฀ cigarette฀ brands฀ starter฀ brands,฀e.g.฀by฀including฀a฀high฀cocoa฀content฀see฀Table฀3.7฀or฀by฀producing฀strawberry- lavoured฀cigarettes฀ [44] ฀that฀are฀certain฀to฀encourage฀smoking฀initiation฀ [25] .฀In฀this฀con- text,฀mention฀may฀also฀be฀made฀of฀the฀popularity฀with฀young฀people฀of฀the฀Old฀Joe฀Camel฀ ads,฀based฀on฀RJR฀Nabisco’s฀new,฀specially฀created฀cartoon฀character฀ [13,฀45] .฀A฀smoker฀ who฀is฀already฀conditioned฀to฀the฀habit฀no฀longer฀needs฀such฀advertising.

13.2 Advertising Messages

It฀has฀been฀found฀consistently฀that฀advertising฀messages฀are฀particularly฀effective฀when฀ they฀have฀a฀visual฀impact฀within฀a฀few฀seconds฀and฀are฀consistent฀with฀the฀addressee’s฀own฀ thinking.฀This฀avoids฀any฀internal฀conlict฀with฀the฀message฀that฀might฀perhaps฀give฀rise฀to฀ doubts.฀Advertising฀messages฀such฀as฀these฀may฀be฀directed฀at฀individuals฀as฀well฀as฀groups฀ peers฀ [11,฀46,฀47] . Adolescents฀are฀addressed฀by฀the฀following฀themes฀in฀advertising฀messages฀ [13] : Independence,฀self-confidence,฀social฀acceptance,฀freedom฀from฀pressure:฀all฀these฀are฀ •฀ typified฀by฀the฀Marlboro฀Man฀ [33] ฀and฀this฀applies฀equally฀for฀adolescents฀of฀either฀sex. Ritual:฀Smoking฀is฀depicted฀by฀the฀cigarette฀industry฀itself฀as฀a฀mark฀of฀adulthood;฀as฀ •฀ such,฀it฀is฀associated฀with฀pleasure฀and฀with฀the฀opportunity฀to฀imitate฀adults฀ [33,฀38,฀48] ฀ and฀the฀youthful-looking฀Marlboro฀Cowboy฀is฀often฀used฀to฀portray฀this. Normal฀behaviour:฀In฀its฀advertising฀messages,฀the฀tobacco฀industry฀links฀smoking฀with฀ •฀ everyday฀living,฀generating฀the฀impression฀of฀something฀entirely฀normal฀when฀people฀smoke฀ in฀familiar฀surroundings,฀e.g.฀drinking฀coffee฀after฀a฀work฀shift฀a฀kind฀of฀self-reward.฀ As฀an฀ingrained฀activity,฀the฀combination฀of฀coffee฀and฀cigarette,฀in฀particular,฀is฀often฀ the฀hardest฀to฀check฀in฀smokers฀who฀want฀to฀quit. Social฀interaction:฀When฀two฀or฀more฀people฀smoke฀at฀the฀same฀time,฀this฀makes฀it฀ •฀ easier฀for฀them฀to฀socialise฀because฀the฀cigarette฀helps฀to฀create฀a฀shared฀identity฀this฀ situation฀ can฀ be฀ compared฀ with฀ dog-walkers฀ in฀ the฀ park฀ who฀ fall฀ into฀ conversation฀ much฀more฀easily฀by฀means฀of฀this฀“vehicle”฀than฀people฀who฀are฀simply฀out฀walking.฀ Adolescents฀ind฀this฀situation฀pleasant฀because฀they฀then฀belong฀and฀are฀accepted. Health:฀While฀the฀tobacco฀industry฀cannot฀begin฀to฀claim฀that฀smoking฀is฀healthy฀in฀any฀ •฀ way,฀it฀manages฀to฀create฀the฀illusion฀of฀positive฀associations฀in฀that฀cigarette฀ads฀employ฀ actors฀who฀are฀young,฀dynamic,฀glowing฀with฀health฀and฀shown฀smoking฀in฀wonderful,฀ visually฀stunning฀locations.฀The฀intention฀is฀to฀depict฀smoking฀as฀relatively฀harmless.฀ In฀addition,฀the฀cigarettes฀are฀glamorised฀using฀epithets฀such฀as฀“mild”,฀“light”,฀“pure”,฀ “natural”฀and฀“fresh”฀possibly฀with฀added฀menthol. Many฀psychologists฀have฀developed฀theoretical฀models฀on฀the฀effectiveness฀of฀advertising฀ in฀encouraging฀smoking฀initiation:฀problems฀of฀communication฀theory฀naturally฀arise฀in฀ this฀area฀and฀these฀can฀be฀used฀to฀develop฀a฀deeper฀understanding฀of฀the฀reception฀and฀ intellectual฀processing฀of฀advertising฀messages.฀The฀key฀stages฀are฀stimulus฀reception,฀ stimulus฀processing฀and฀production฀of฀a฀resultant฀action฀ [49] . Conversely,฀anti-smoking฀TV฀campaigns฀can฀achieve฀a฀marked฀decline฀in฀the฀number฀of฀ smokers฀if฀they฀continue฀to฀be฀broadcast฀over฀a฀prolonged฀period฀e.g.฀for฀18฀months.฀A฀ series฀of฀interviews฀was฀conducted฀in฀2,997฀smokers฀and฀2,471฀ex-smokers฀before฀the฀inter- vention:฀after฀the฀campaign฀started,฀interviews฀were฀conducted฀again฀in฀3,610฀and฀2,381฀ subjects฀after฀6฀and฀18฀months,฀respectively฀ [50] .฀At฀study฀end,฀9.8฀of฀smokers฀had฀stopped฀ smoking฀and฀only฀4.3฀of฀ex-smokers฀had฀relapsed.฀Applying฀these฀results฀to฀a฀typical฀ control฀population฀suggests฀that฀the฀12-month฀campaign฀would฀lead฀to฀a฀1.2-reduction฀in฀ smoking฀prevalence฀ [50] .฀Consideration฀is,฀therefore,฀being฀given฀in฀the฀UK฀to฀organising฀ anti-smoking฀TV฀campaigns฀of฀this฀kind฀more฀frequently.

13.3 Effect of Tobacco Industry Advertising Messages