Marketing

They'd Like to Teach the World to Smoke

by Anne Landman — January 29, 2008 - 3:07pm

With marketing constraints increasing and cigarette usage declining in the developed world, Philip Morris (PM) is increasingly targeting smokers in other countries. PM now makes sweet-smelling cigarettes with cloves and other flavors that have twice the tar and nicotine as conventional products, created to appeal to smokers in developing countries.

Main Source: 
Wall Street Journal (sub req'd), January 29, 2008

When Flacks Attack, We Bite Back

by Judith Siers-Poisson — January 27, 2008 - 7:35pm
  • Topics: Agriculture, Arts / Culture, Corporations, Marketing, Media, Public Relations

    • The Center for Media and Democracy has never been shy about criticizing the public relations industry. That's what we do, and we're proud of it. You'd think that this would give PR people second thoughts before sending us their drivel. Unfortunately, they can't seem to help themselves -- even when that means that they end up tipping us off to their own efforts at sneaking product placements into TV shows such as American Idol.

    Corporate Responsibility or "Hidden Campaigns"?

    by Anne Landman — January 22, 2008 - 1:49pm

    The General Chairman of Indonesia's National Commission for Child Protection, Seto Mulyadi, called tobacco companies' corporate social responsibility programs "hidden cigarette campaigns." Mulyadi said that cigarette companies "do free advertising through their CSR programs." Mulyadi is proposing a complete ban on cigarette advertising in Indonesia, after a study by the country's Publi

    Main Source: 
    Tempo Interactive, Jakarta, January 18, 2008

    Flacks Posing as 'Citizen Journalists'

    by Sheldon Rampton — January 19, 2008 - 9:31am

    When the Tallahassee Democrat combed the community in early 2007 for residents whose blogs and articles could fill out the paper's local coverage, Stacey N. Getz was happy to sign on. "Getz's Let's Talk Tallahassee blog is a paean to civic boosterism, inviting readers to submit ideas to help business leaders and developers improve the city," writes Adam Weinstein.

    Main Source: 
    Mother Jones, January/February 2008

    Cigarette Pack-Shaped Books Get British American Tobacco Steamed

    by Anne Landman — January 16, 2008 - 3:02pm

    Capitalizing on the public's familiarity with cigarette brands, a publisher and design company in the United Kingdom has released a set of literary classics designed to look like cigarette packs.

    Main Source: 
    The Guardian (UK), January 16, 2008

    Adults Still Don't "Get It" on Youth Smoking

    by Anne Landman — January 14, 2008 - 4:54pm
  • Topics: Advertising, Corporate Campaigns, Corporate Social Responsibility, Children, Health, Marketing, Tobacco

    • A recent report issued by the American Lung Association gives the State of Virginia a "D" for its youth smoking prevention efforts.

    Drug Ads Raise Legislators' Blood Pressure

    by Diane Farsetta — January 11, 2008 - 3:51pm

    The U.S. Congress is investigating "the pharmaceutical industry's use of celebrity endorsements in direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertisements." First up are ads for Pfizer's cholesterol drug Lipitor, which feature the inventor of the artificial heart, Dr. Robert Jarvik.

    Main Source: 
    PM (Pharmaceutical Marketing) Live, January 9, 2008

    Second UK Energy Consultation Headed for Meltdown

    by Diane Farsetta — January 9, 2008 - 4:06pm

    "We are profoundly concerned that the government's approach was designed to provide particular and limiting answers," announced a spokesperson for the British nuclear consultation group. The independent group of energy economists and nuclear advisers condemned the British government's second attempt at developing a national energy policy, saying that "the government's plans to force through a new generation of nuclear power stations" is "undemocratic and possibly illegal," reported John Vidal.

    Main Source: 
    The Guardian (UK), January 4, 2008

    Cigarette "Taste Test" Snuffed Out

    by Anne Landman — January 9, 2008 - 2:59pm

    Australia's 1992 Tobacco Advertising Prohibition Act prohibited most forms of tobacco advertising, making it more difficult for tobacco companies to promote their products. Despite the law, an Australian market-research firm called Feedback Plus was found to be distributing free cigarettes in a program it said was a "taste-testing survey" being carried out as part of a "marketing research" program.

    Main Source: 
    Sydney Morning Herald, January 9, 2008
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