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Stanford Research into the Impact of Tobacco Advertising

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Racist Ads – img5053

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As World War II came to a close, tobacco companies needed to expand to “new” markets in order to maintain prosperity. At this point, they began issuing mass marketing efforts targeting African Americans as the demographic became urban-centric and earned more wages. Before this mass market expansion in the 1940s and 50s, however, tobacco companies sang a very different tune. Indeed, in the first decades of the twentieth century, the only ads featuring African Americans were racist advertisements that used black caricatures to advertise to white consumers.

An historian of African American history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Professor Robert E. Weems, Jr., explains that “when African Americans were perceived to be a group with very limited spending power, many companies employed the derogatory term ‘nigger’ in naming products” (1). Indeed, our collection includes ads for “Nigger Hair Tobacco,” among other racist advertisements.

When advertisers began to realize that the African American market was untapped and potentially lucrative, countless articles were printed offering businessmen and admen advice on how to attract African American consumers. One article from 1943, written by the “Negro market expert,” David J. Sullivan, actually alerted advertisers of racist techniques which should be avoided in order to prevent pushing away African American consumers. The essay, entitled “Don’t Do This—If You Want to Sell Your Products to Negroes!,” urged advertisements to avoid racist caricatures, such as “buxom, broad-faced, grinning mammies and Aunt Jemimas” or “the ‘Uncle Mose’ type … characterized by kinky hair and as a stooped, tall, lean and grayed sharecropper, always in rags.” (2)

1. Weems, Jr., Robert E. “African American Consumers since World War II.” Kusmer, Kenneth L. and Koe W. Trotter, eds. “African American Urban History Since World War II.” Chicago:The Univeristy of Chicago Press. 2009:359-375.

2. Sullivan, David J. “The American Negro—An ‘Export’ Market at Home!” Printer’s Ink; 208:3. 21 July 1944:90.

Targeting Teens – img20989

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Sponsorship of music and sporting events and the free distribution of cigarette products to lure teenagers to try the product was a technique often used by cigarette companies till tobacco branded sponsorship and the associated distribution of free samples were banned by the Tobacco Control Act. However, in the absence of regulation, electronic cigarette (e-cig) companies are adopting this ploy to target teens. For instance, the top 6 e-cig companies in 2012 to 2013, provided free samples at 348 events, many of which appear geared toward youth.

In order to lure youth to try the product, samples are distributed at popular music concerts, outside stores that are obviously teen-oriented, and even during the Superbowl. Various props are used to make the sampling more appealing. For instance, Vita Cigs offered free samples to passersby outside a store of the retail apparel giant “Forever 21.” The roadshow van closely resembled an ice-cream truck. Logic offered free samples along with free macaroons, and NJOY had a slew of sexy, well-toned, beach boys handing out their samples. The offer of free samples is well promoted through e-cig brands’ social media channels. Photos of the sampling events are posted on the various social media channels.

The deeming regulations proposed by the FDA in early 2014, proposed a ban on the distribution of free samples. However, given that the regulations may not come into effect for at least a year or two, it gives e-cig companies several opportunities to continue to get yet another generation of teens nicotine addicted.

Targeting Teens – img20990

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Sponsorship of music and sporting events and the free distribution of cigarette products to lure teenagers to try the product was a technique often used by cigarette companies till tobacco branded sponsorship and the associated distribution of free samples were banned by the Tobacco Control Act. However, in the absence of regulation, electronic cigarette (e-cig) companies are adopting this ploy to target teens. For instance, the top 6 e-cig companies in 2012 to 2013, provided free samples at 348 events, many of which appear geared toward youth.

In order to lure youth to try the product, samples are distributed at popular music concerts, outside stores that are obviously teen-oriented, and even during the Superbowl. Various props are used to make the sampling more appealing. For instance, Vita Cigs offered free samples to passersby outside a store of the retail apparel giant “Forever 21.” The roadshow van closely resembled an ice-cream truck. Logic offered free samples along with free macaroons, and NJOY had a slew of sexy, well-toned, beach boys handing out their samples. The offer of free samples is well promoted through e-cig brands’ social media channels. Photos of the sampling events are posted on the various social media channels.

The deeming regulations proposed by the FDA in early 2014, proposed a ban on the distribution of free samples. However, given that the regulations may not come into effect for at least a year or two, it gives e-cig companies several opportunities to continue to get yet another generation of teens nicotine addicted.

Targeting Teens – img20991

by

Sponsorship of music and sporting events and the free distribution of cigarette products to lure teenagers to try the product was a technique often used by cigarette companies till tobacco branded sponsorship and the associated distribution of free samples were banned by the Tobacco Control Act. However, in the absence of regulation, electronic cigarette (e-cig) companies are adopting this ploy to target teens. For instance, the top 6 e-cig companies in 2012 to 2013, provided free samples at 348 events, many of which appear geared toward youth.

In order to lure youth to try the product, samples are distributed at popular music concerts, outside stores that are obviously teen-oriented, and even during the Superbowl. Various props are used to make the sampling more appealing. For instance, Vita Cigs offered free samples to passersby outside a store of the retail apparel giant “Forever 21.” The roadshow van closely resembled an ice-cream truck. Logic offered free samples along with free macaroons, and NJOY had a slew of sexy, well-toned, beach boys handing out their samples. The offer of free samples is well promoted through e-cig brands’ social media channels. Photos of the sampling events are posted on the various social media channels.

The deeming regulations proposed by the FDA in early 2014, proposed a ban on the distribution of free samples. However, given that the regulations may not come into effect for at least a year or two, it gives e-cig companies several opportunities to continue to get yet another generation of teens nicotine addicted.

It's Toasted – img13553

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The American Tobacco Company began using the slogan “It’s Toasted” for Lucky Strike cigarettes in 1917. “It’s toasted” referred to the process of heat curing tobacco leaf as opposed to simply sun drying. Purported to “remove harmful corrosive acids (pungent irritants)” and to “sterilize” tobacco, this process of curing tobacco did not in fact differ widely from methods of other manufacturers.

The slogan, still included in small text on Lucky Strike cartons today, has been included in a variety of Lucky Strike campaigns over the decades, ranging from “Cream of the Crop” (1928-1934) to “Fat Shadow” (1929-1930) to throat referrals (1927-1937). The meaning of the message was elastic — it was at some times used to indicate better taste, while at others to indicate less throat irritation.

First used in 1917 on an ad entitled, “Do you like good toast?” the slogan was meant to intone delicious flavor: “Toasting Burley holds the flavor, and helps it… Remember– it’s toasted! Like hot buttered toast.” Perhaps this comparison to toasting and coked food allowed Lucky Strike to position itself as a sterilized cigarette, free of disease such as tuberculosis.

The following year, Lucky Strike continued with the comparison to delicious cuisine, capitalizing on the American public’s preoccupation with the WWI shortage on food; indeed, in 1918, Lucky introduced its “food conservation series” of ads, which provided consumers with advice such as “More Vegetables Less Meat,” “Eat More Corn,” and “Cheese OK’d by Food Administration.” These guidelines followed FDA recommendations on the wartime food shortage in order to legitimize the purchase of Lucky Strike cigarettes.

While the earliest “It’s toasted” ads had boasted great taste, by 1927, Lucky had changed the meaning of the slogan to throat protection: “It’s toasted. Your throat protection – against irritation – against cough.” But by 1955 they were back in the flavor realm, with “It’s toasted to taste better!” In 1970, Lucky Strike was again considering ad copy which would compare its toasted cigarettes to delicious toast. An internal industry document reveals a mock-up ad featuring two boxes of Lucky Strike popping out of a toaster under the header “Bon Appetit: It’s Toasted to Taste Better” (2).

Clearly, the slogan has an elasticity of message which has allowed Lucky Strike to make health claims whenever convenient or beneficial. The slogan is included on the side of the current packing of the Lucky Strike carton, which reads, “manufacture includes the Lucky Strike process, It's Toasted.”

1. Heimann, Robert K. “Bon Appetit.” American Tobacco. 11 Nov 1970. http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/dmv60a00