Volume 1
The tobacco industry and the health risks of smoking : second report / Health Committee.
- Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Health Committee
- Date:
- 2000
Licence: Open Government Licence
Credit: The tobacco industry and the health risks of smoking : second report / Health Committee. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![95. A Mustoe Merriman Herring & Levy memorandum (in response to the proposed advertising ban) notes that, for “new smokers ... smoking... is still a badge. A sign of maturity, discernment and independence”.'® A CDP presentation for Gallaher explained that the goal of the Benson and Hedges SF [Special Filter] advertising campaign was to “cement the brand into the repertoire of the experimental smoker’”.'’”? TBWA concluded that the success of Marlboro Lights derived from its being “‘the aspirational lifestyle brand ... the Diet Coke of cigarettes”.'”' A creative brief for Rothmans asked: “How do we want to change what people think, feel or know? We want to engage their aspirations and fantasies - ‘I’d like to be there, do that, own that”.'”? Another advertising executive bemoaned the fact that the “imagery” surrounding Silk Cut remained “unaspirational for the style conscious ... user imagery has become the very young (starter cigarette) and middle aged (part time, health freak, not a real smoker)”.'” 96. Campaigns aimed to provide what the CTCR described as “appropriate psychological support” to the young smoker. CDP in one brief described the client (Gallaher for Benson and Hedges) as being “‘adamant that she wants the shot to mirror the original, primarily because it researched so well against the younger style press target”. The aim of a 1998 CDP/Gallaher campaign was to “boost B&H’s image with style conscious 18-24s”.'* An exuberant - and to our minds utterly callous and offensive - creative brief for CDP epitomises the absence of any ethical dimension in the quest to promote a brand of cigarettes: ‘What do we want this work to achieve? We want more 18-34 year old blokes smoking B&H than ever before. We want to see these dudes ripping-up packets of Marlboro and Camel and treating them with the disdain that second rate, American filth deserves. For Christ’s sake what the hell are people doing smoking brands that are made to be smoked by ‘cowhands’ and not by the youth of the trendiest, coolest, most happening country in the world. In many ways this brief is really a charity brief. Trying to help people recognise the error of their ways, thinking they are being cool smoking what Roy bloody Rogers smoked and opening their eyes to the unchallengeable truth that the coolest smoke in the world is a B&H. We want to see Great, British B&H in the Ben Sherman shirt pockets of Brit-popped, dance- crazed, Tequila drinking, Nike kicking, Fast Show watching, Loaded reading, Babe pulling, young gentlemen. So what we need is the coolest, most exciting, white knuckle ride of a campaign ever.”!”° 97. We pressed Mr Paul Bainsfair, Chairman of TBWA GCT Simons Palmer Ltd. on how his company simultaneously sought to engage the “aspirations and fantasies” of 18-24 year olds and to avoid engaging those of 15 year olds. He told us that creative teams were not asked to work to a specific age but that the age bands indicated the “direction” of those people they felt would be interested in their advertising. He felt it was significant that the age band was as broad as it was and he noted “there is a huge difference between the 24-year-old and the 15-year-old”. He suggested that the CAP rules prevented them from producing material which might appeal to children and that it was “unlikely that the kind of advertising we come up with would particularly appeal to a 15-year- olarHe 98. We found Mr Bainsfair’s argument inconsistent. He seemed to imply that the appeal of the marketing could stretch upwards, to engage the aspirations of the 24 year old, but not downwards to entice 15 year olds. We wondered why the subject matter mentioned in the briefs - and forming the subject matter of the style magazines to which the advertisements were directed - comprising as it~ did of “rock, cult, bikes, cars” would appeal to 18-year-olds but not to 15-year-olds. Mr Bainsfair was unable to offer any reasons why it should not and in the end conceded that “‘it is common sense that there is going to be an overlap. Some 15-year-olds are going to be more sophisticated than others”.!””](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b32221083_0001_0044.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
