Tobacco companies advertise in magazines with high youth readership, including Sports Illustrated, People, Rolling Stone, Hot Rod, Glamour, Vibe, Motor Trend, Spin, Mademoiselle and others.
The 86% of adolescent smokers who bought their own cigarettes preferred the
three most heavily advertised brands, (Marlboro, Newport, Camel) compared to only about one third of adult smokers.
The most successful advertising figure is the Marlboro Cowboy. His image is one of being rugged and self-reliant. He was created for Philip Morris during the 1950's to get the attention of young boys. Before long Marlboro was gaining the biggest percentage of starters every year. Marlboro is smoked by 60% of the youth smokers.
The cowboy's image is reported to be worth 39 billion dollars to Philip Morris. It's so familiar that the name Marlboro doesn't need to be prominently placed on their ads. Look at their newest promotion.
Whose attention do you think the makers of Lucky Strike are trying to get with this ad?
Tobacco ads often make it look like the guy who smokes gets the girl.
Tobacco companies would like kids to believe that even if they don't think of themselves as "Kool" they can get a girl if they smoke.
A company called Brown and Williamson manufactures Kool cigarettes. Who do you think they're after with their "B Kool" campaign? (Remember almost everyone who smokes started before the age of 18.)
Let's take a look at this picture. The young lady is sitting behind a guy who seems to be pretty "cool." After all, he's on a motorcycle. He's wearing good looking glasses, and his hair looks pretty "cool" too. How much "cooler" can you get?
Women wearing little clothing are popular in Camel ads. Look what can be found on the back cover of a Sports Illustrated... Like the others, we got this ad from our school library!
The girl in this ad is obviously in control. That's the message Philip Morris wants girls to get from this ad...that they'll be in control and thin if they smoke.
Philip Morris introduced Virginia Slims in the 60's to gain control of the female market. Ads targeting women began in large numbers in 1967. The slogan, "You've come a long way baby" was used and suddenly, the number of girls under the age of 18 who started smoking shop up.
Many ads for Virginia Slims and Misty show the woman being in control and the man as the weaker of the two. Here the slogan is, "It's a Woman's Thing".
The newest Philip Morris campaign is telling women to: "Find Your Voice." Again, they want girls to think that if they smoke, they'll be in control. We know that when a girl smokes she loses her voice....her control.... to an addiction to nicotine.
Is it any wonder that cigar smoking has reached kids? In 1997, 31.2% of boys and 10.8% of girls in grades 9-12 reported having smoked a cigar at least once in the last 30 days.
Tobacco companies have been lying to us for years.
