October 2011 Issue of Essence Magazine
Essence magazine never disappoints. The October 2011 issue had 2 new advertisements featuring women with natural hair. Again, I found a Newport advertisement featuring a black couple. Oddly enough, they weren’t smoking cigarettes. They were just having fun. In all of the Newport Pleasure ads I’ve seen, I have never seen anyone actually smoking.
I also found a BMW advertisement with a natural hair model. “When life throws you curves, step on the gas”.
Why do Newport Pleasure ads show people having fun, when they are actually marketing cigarettes?
Take this ad for instance.
Source:Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, 2011
It’s for Davidoff cigarettes, and shows a woman smiling with a cigarette. The tagline suggests that these slim cigarettes are sophisticated. My point is this. If we simply looked at the images in the Newport Pleasure ads, we wouldn’t know that it was for cigarettes (there is a surgeon general’s warning, however). But, when you look at this Davidoff ad, it is clear that it is for cigarettes.
In looking at ads, ask yourself: who is the target audience?
Fun fact: cigarette advertisements are banned on tv, and the marketing of this product is heavily regulated by the federal government.
FDA Authority Over Tobacco
