Tobacco Firm Tries to Lure Celeb Smokers

Actress Lauren Bacall lights a cigarette for her husband, actor Humphrey Bogart, at a press reception at London's Claridges Hotel, England, on April 16, 1951

A tobacco company is offering a free lifetime supply of cigarettes to celebrity smokers as part of a guerrilla marketing campaign to raise the public profile of its recently launched brand.


In a tersely worded pitch, Freedom Tobacco International Inc. said it was seeking to "seed" its cigarettes with adult celebrities. The appeal was made Tuesday to publicists through a Web-based network subscribed to by hundreds of public relations agencies.


"To be honest, celebrities make or break your brands. If you look at who drinks what or that sort of thing, celebrity endorsements have always meant a lot," said Patrick Carroll, founder and chief executive of the New York-based company.

But the marketing ploy quickly drew fire from anti-smoking activists.

"Blatant tobacco industry marketing tactics like this one are very disturbing, yet they aren't very surprising to us," said Gwendolyn Young, a board member of the American Lung Association of California. "What it really shows is the tobacco industry is continuing to use these deceptive strategies to lure people of all ages into a deadly addiction."

Yahoo

yes just how the alcohol industry lures young people into drinking to excess with comercials.

give

me

a

break!


i dont smoke for the very reason why i dont drink, its harmful to me.

but it is a personal choice, these anti this that and the other groups are bugging me. they want to decide for other people how they should live.

the tobacco industry has as much right as any other industry to advertise anyway they want. even if i dont like it.