Smoking-Cigarettes and Advertising

This article is part of the Tobacco portal on Sourcewatch funded from 2006 - 2009 by the American Legacy Foundation.

Smoking-Cigarettes and Advertising

This 9 page Brown & Williamson marketing report from 1979 discusses how to market cigarettes to young people, or "starters." It talks about the health denial necessary for smokers to keep smoking and how to foster that denial by using certain types of ad copy. It also contains passages describing how to attract young people to smoking:

In the young smoker's mind, a cigarette falls into the same category with wine, beer, shaving, wearing a bra (or purposely not wearing one)...For the young starter, a cigarette is associated with introduction to sex life, with courtship, with smoking "pot" and keeping late studying hours....[For the young smoker], the cigarette is the entrance ticket to the hall of the adult society.

This is followed with instructions for designing effective cigarette advertising targeted towards young people:

Present the cigarette as one of a few initiations into the adult world. Present the cigarette as a part of the illicit pleasure category of products and activities...--To the best of your ability (considering some legal constraints), relate the cigarette to "pot," wine, beer, sex, etc... -- DON'T communicate health or health-related points.

Title SMOKING-CIGARETTES AND ADVERTISING
Date 19750000
Type MRPT, MARKETING REPORT ; REPORT
Bates 680561705/1712
Collection Brown & Williamson
Pages 9
URL: http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/ubh04f00