From: afoxland@gj.net
Date: Fri, 12/01/00
December 1, 2000
Go ahead, ban cigarette advertising in your country. Italy tried
it. As this document demonstrates, whatever laws they may choose
to enact, governments are powerless to reign in the disease-spreading activities
of Philip Morris, which laughs at advertising bans, viewing them as opportunities
that lead them to new and more pervasive marketing ideas, like creating
Marlboro fashion wear and Marlboro travel vacations (which of course constitute
not cigarette ads, but clothing and travel ads, respectively).
Note how Philip Morris violates not only the spirit of the law, but
when it deems that the risk of being caught is sufficiently low, also the
letter of the law:
"...Finally, we even advertised in some periods when the
risk of being fined was perceived to be lower...."
...In discotheques we organized the show distributing 800,000 stickers,
promotional material...and sampling..."...Here is [a picture of]
the contact of the public by the hostesses...The questionnaire is filled
out...the distribution of the leaflet...and finally, as long as the hostess
did not have the misfortune to meet a Government's Inspector, the sampling..."
Note the use of terms in this document like "para-advertising,"
"diversification" and "co-advertising" that denote ways they
get around the Italian ad ban. Note how Philip Morris sniffed at
one effort of a local Italian government to get it to comply with the spirit
of the law and stop it from promoting its disease-causing product in the
community:
"... unfortunately local authorities do not always understand
the word diversification....[showing a photo of a banner with the word
"Marlboro" covered] this is what happened last week in Sicily, where
the city hall covered the word MARLBORO..."
Also, note the introduction of promotional techniques that are particularly
damaging, like Philip Morris' new "World Tennis Championship of Doctors"
featuring tennis-playing professors.
This document is a primer on how cigarette corporations get around government
regulations and in the doing, work their way even deeper into the cultures
of different countries.
Title: Italy Total Communication Ban: A Unique Opportunity
Type of Document: Speech, presentation
Author: N/A
Recipient: N/A
Date:19860400/E
Site: Philip Morris Tobacco Co. Document Site http://www.pmdocs.com/
Page Count: 23
Bates No. 2501174489/4511
URL: http://www.pmdocs.com/getallimg.asp?DOCID=2501174489/4511
Litigation Usage: None yet
THANKS TO: Ray Goldstein of San Francisco, California
Quote:
As you all know, direct cigarette advertising is totally banned in
[Italy] since 1962. However, these restrictions become new opportunities
and we were able to start to communicate to the consumers and trade through
promotional and para-advertising activities...
..."We realized that, if we couldn't advertise, we needed something
else: promotions," said Mr. A.G. Buzzi during a boardmeeting in 1971, explaining
how we communicated our products in a market where cigarette advertising
is totally banned...
...[B]ack in the 60s we started to use famous personalities as opinion
leaders and to place our products in their hands when they appeared in
magazines, films and television. Moreover, we were the first tobacco
company to organize shows...to organize national sampling programmes...we
sponsored events and races and we executing basic promotions such as stickering
during the event...At the end of that period our market share went from
2% to 24% of the total market and from 16 to 70% of the foreign market.
Finally, we even advertised in some periods when the risk of being
fined was perceived to be lower....
...The total market is down, due mainly to antismoking pressures,
but our most successful brands have maintained or increased their respective
shares of the market...
...Nowadays, cigarette trademarks can be advertised based on one
of these two strategies: Diversification and co-advertising...
Co-advertising consists in a formal agreement with one of the co-sponsors
to share the cost of the advertising. It is a legal way around the
anti-advertising law because the co-sponsor appears as the real client
of the advertising....
IN 1986 we started the Marlboro Adventure Team campaign...Beginning
in January this year, we have developed the travel programme further, distributing
the catalogue through more than 1400 agencies...The Marlboro Adventure
Team TV programmed consists of a spring campaign of 85 spots over 2 months,
and of around 450 spots during the last four months of the year.
...
Let me [show] you the video with the three commercials for the Marlboro
Country campaign...using travel diversification. The first is presently
running....The last commercial you've just seen will be on air this Christmas
with the "Season's Greetings from the Marlboro Country. Of course
it is a travel advertising...
Here are some examples of our co-advertising. WE sponsored
the Paris-Dakar BMW Team this year. As part of the agreement, we
shared the cost of advertising on newspapers...
A similar agreement has been taken with the organizer of 6 major
motor races in Italy. Here is the newspaper ad...
We are discussing with Yamaha to co-advertise for the Marlboro Yamaha
Team...
Marlboro Leisure wear is an important part of the overall Marlboro
Communication Plan....and the Chevy Blazer promotion is presently running...unfortunately
local authorities do not always understand the word diversification....this
is what happened last week in Sicily, where the city hall covered the word
MARLBORO...
...This summer we started a sailing programme, by sponsoring the
yacht Stars and Stripes of Dennis Conner, winner of the America Cup, for
which we have the advertising rights...
We maintain our main promotions: golf and aerobatics airplane team...[W]e
are the sponsors of the international golf classification called "Order
of Merit."
...[W]e continue our restaurant sampling...
...Here you see the newly constructed PM Club in Bari, in Genova,
the Club in Milano, and the one in Rimini...These clubs give us the exclusive
opportunity to be always present during the main fairs and to have intensive
sampling...
...We sponsor cultural events such as music concerts and the production
of books in collaboration with the association of the Theatre La Scala
in Milano...
We also sponsor, this year for the second time, the World Tennis
Championship of Doctors...here is one of the participating professors....
Here is the list of ultralight brands we are distributing now in
restaurants and hotels together with our cigarettes...the actual distributing
of the leaflet and sampling in course in front of a drugstore...
...In discotheques we organized the show distributing 800,000 stickers,
promotional material...and sampling...
Here is the contact of the public by the hostesses...The questionnaire
is filled out...the distribution of the leaflet...and finally, as long
as the hostess did not have the misfortune to meet a Government's Inspector,
the sampling...
...the product placement in feature movies, used to capitalize on
the always growing TV audience. For television versions only, we
have a special treatment for our products with the packs shot closer, since
the private TV has less formal control by the authorities...It is effective
advertising because the audience for our movies goes from 3 to 15 million
spectators per night on average. Moreover, when we have one of our
products as part of the action during a film, it really reaches the audience...
_____________________________________________________________________________
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