07-Jun-1998 Sunday
You're driving along. A billboard catches your eye. What are they trying to
sell, anyway? All you see is a squiggly design that looks like a refugee
from a '70s disco poster. Squint harder, and eventually a figure emerges
from the pattern. Is it . . . a dog? A cow? A horse?
Oh. It's a camel.
Welcome to the post-Joe Camel world of cigarette advertising. Though the
cartoon dromedary retired to that great oasis in the sky in July 1997, the
controversy over tobacco marketing is as fresh as today's headlines. The
ongoing political, legal and governmental clashes with Big Tobacco shift so
quickly you need a score card to keep track. But cigarette ads haven't gone
away -- and aren't likely to.
Whether you light up or leave them alone, cigarette ads get in your eyes.
According to estimates by anti-smoking groups, the tobacco industry spends
$14 million per day on advertising and promotion. Until April, it looked as
though cigarette advertising was about to enter a new era. Last June,
tobacco companies and several state attorneys general hammered out a
proposed agreement under which cigarette makers -- in exchange for
protection from liability suits -- would voluntarily restrict their
marketing.
Tobacco companies offered to eliminate most outdoor signs, giveaways and
sponsorships and to eliminate people and cartoon figures in print ads. But
the major tobacco companies withdrew support in April, after the Senate
Commerce Committee approved legislation that would have denied cigarette
makers immunity from liability and mandated a stiff increase in cigarette
prices.
A shift
Even with tobacco regulation in limbo, consumers are spotting -- and in
some cases puzzling over -- trends in cigarette advertising that seem to
signal a shift in how tobacco makers are sending their message.
Consider the campaigns for Camel and two other R.J. Reynolds brands,
Winston and Salem.
Most eye-catching are the billboards in Camel's "What You're Looking For"
campaign, which launched last fall. There's no copy. No mention of any
brand. Just the image of the camel in a busy print. What looks like the
ultimate soft sell is, in fact, a strategy to keep the camel symbol strong
in consumers' minds.
"You'll find the classic image of the camel somewhere in the ad," says
Carole Crosslin, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. spokeswoman. The trademarked
camel has been on Camel packs since the brand was introduced in 1913. The
campaign, Crosslin adds, "allows us to maintain momentum for the brand."
The billboards have drawn criticism from anti-smoking forces, however. "As
they've replaced Joe Camel, they've replaced it with a campaign that's very
enticing to young people," says Cathryn Cushing. She is media coordinator
for Tobacco-Free Tri-Counties, an anti-smoking coalition in the Portland,
Ore., area. The hidden camel reminds Cushing of the children's book
"Where's Waldo?"
"Kids love where the image eventually pops out if you look at it long
enough," she says. "If anything, it's probably more appealing than Joe
Camel ever was. It appears more grown-up."
Fight-back attitude
Camel's newest twist on the "What You're Looking For" campaign spoofs
criticism that the company's ads contain subliminal messages or target
underage smokers. One new print ad depicts a cranky-looking maid dripping
cigarette ash into a dish she's about to serve to her upper-class
employers. The camel symbol appears on her cap. A "Viewer Discretion
Advised" mock warning reveals that the ad contains "IR (Idle Rich)" and "PA
(Premeditated Ashing)."
That fighting-back attitude isn't limited to Camel's new ads, according to
Deb Merskin, an assistant professor of journalism at the University of
Oregon. "There's a sense of defiance about smoking," Merskin says. "These
companies are saying it's a sort of rebellion: `I'm tough, I'm independent,
I'll do what I want,' which of course appeals to kids."
The successful "No Bull" campaign for Winston cigarettes declares that the
brand contains "no additives." The ads are sometimes outrageous -- one
features a white-shirted man with his head literally up his backside -- and
sometimes cocky, including several featuring bold, confident women ("Until
I find a real man, I'll settle for a real smoke"). During the second half
of 1997, after the campaign was introduced, Winston shipments increased 9
percent compared with the second half of the previous year.
"They seem to be targeting women," Merskin says. "According to some
research, girls under 11 are the greatest growth group for smoking. In any
standard market, you go where you see the growth."
R.J. Reynolds' Crosslin couldn't disagree more. She insists that neither
the Camel nor the Winston campaign is targeted at young people or women.