Archive for the ‘Cigarette advertising’ Category
Another way of getting your five-a-day?
Filed under: Cigarette advertising | Tags: Lucky Strike, Pall Mall
Leave a comment The virtues associated with e
ating vegetables and fruits are well known. It can be a bit messy all of that peeling, cooking, etc.
But at last the cigarette industry has come up with a much easier way of doing it. By smoking it. Or have I again misunderstood the meaning of BAT’s Cigarillo concept? Probably.
Camel tries to make its people more palatable?
Filed under: Cigarette advertising | Tags: Camel, Do your thing
Leave a comment I have 
been reporting that Camel’s “Do your Thing” campaign was all about putting some of the most unpleasant looking people on a poster smoking a cigarette – or threatening to. The campaign slogan could just as well have been “bollocks to you”.
The latest that I have found seems to be softening that with a woman sporting flowing long hair and who is either vigorously shaking her head or being confronted by a wind machine. Either way, “smoking is deadly” as the warning at the bottom maintains.
Cigarette advertising blooming like summer flowers
Filed under: Cigarette advertising | Tags: Camel, Lucky Strike, Pall Mall
Comments (1) 
It is true, I did say it was quiet, not much doing on the cigarette advertising advertising front. Anything but, now. First up Camel (left). Sticking with the “Do your Thing” strapline here we have two relatively young people with (unlit) cigarettes in their mouths (always an unattractive image, surely?) doing their own thing. In line with the campaign more widely – and there are many examples elsewhere in this blog – the messa
ge is “Fuck off”?
Next up, Pall Mall is back with some fantastic tosh. Take “New Neighbour, New Friend” (right) as part of the “Enjoy the moment” campaign. How nice, meet on the balcony and be introduced by sharing a death stick. Most people do the introductions safely using an intermediary, such as a dog or cat.
Same campaign, same nonsense. Sorry about this one, it has been literally defaced, but none the worse for it. Strapli
ne is very clever: boring short holiday or long-time short holiday. I do not know whether this a a play on the old British saying that I know confuses German speakers. “What did you do on your holiday?” We did nothing”. “Great!” “How can doing nothing be anything but boring?” “Is doing nothing good?”
Finally, (un)Lucky Strike is back (right). Now this one is truly bizarre. And it is almost in line with the Pall Mall neighbours above. The innovation here is that the cigarettes are brown. Not great, I would ha
ve thought, but there you go. But added to that, there is now a Luck Strike dating app, “Cigarillo”, presumably for people with a death wish?
“Flaschendrehen trifft”, by my translation, is something like “meet by spinning the bottle”. Random? But to make it even stranger, if one looks at the packet with the “cigarettes are deadly” warning on the white block, one finds, “Wollen sie aufhören?” – “Do you want to stop smoking?” Mixed messages, at the very least.
All a bit quiet on the cigarette advertising front
Despite my best efforts with my blog – posts about politics, art and travel – it is the cigarette advertising that brings in my readers and 
sparks interest. It seems, in particular, that Germans are the most curious about my posts, even though all of the examples are free to be seen in any German city.
Of late, the billboards have been few in number, and when they do appear they are boring as anything. The latest JPS (left) is a case in point. “Maximales Vergnügen” translates literally as “maximum pleasure (in death)”
Then there is “Passt Perkfekt ins Jetzt” (right) sort-of Perfect Fit now? And this “compact” innovation. That is interesting. Does that just mean it is narrower because it seems to be cheaper than “Maximales Vergnügen”?
There is, however, a new kid on the block, as it were (left). The no batteries needed, of course, refers to the considerable competitive challenge coming from e-cigarettes. And whilst I do not like the latter – users fail to appreciate that the vapour that they produce smells and has emanated from their mouths. It is also voluminous (I am sure this is deliberate on the part of the manufacturers and is unnecessary for the efficient delivery of nicotine). Users Blythely inhale and exhale with no 
care at all for anyone behind them who gets a face full of the stuff. I almost prefer the real thing.
Anyway, not only are batteries not needed, but users get American Spirit. New to me. Looking forward to more genius straplines from this brand and its marketers. And here’s me thinking the Germans were in hock to Russia!
JPS identity crisis
Filed under: Cigarette advertising, Uncategorized | Tags: JPS
Leave a comment John Player Special is trying to knock us over with its striking new campaign, Make your Day. There’s a lot of red. It is supposed to “fit in”, as the strapline indicates. Because it is compact! What is a compact cigarette? More tobacco? If so, the bit they do have to put on the poster “Rauchen ist tödlich” is as fitting as ever. Deadly.
Gauloises’ winter season continues
Gauloises’ Vive le Moment campaign sticks with the winter theme and young people being naked in the snow. This time it looks like a hot tub in the garden with the clothes carelessly discarded on the wet snow. For some reason, there is no catchy strapline (I suppose it is cheaper that way?), the picture says it all!
Vive le Moment in the snow
I have reported elsewhere that the Gauloises advertising team is obsessed with semi-naked women. Well, it seems now that that is a bit boring, so now it is just naked women, flanked by men. It being the season, of course, for running around without clothes.
So, what is going on? Seemingly, Bavarians understand the concept of Pistengaudi (me thought it was a drunk architect). It is when you’ve done the skiing for the day and it’s time to get drunk. And naturally, in such circumstances, one sheds clothes. It goes without saying.
Autumn 2017 cigarette advertising in Germany
In recent weeks, the advertising territory has been completely owned by Gauloises. Indeed, Gauloises’ current campaign draws on the company’s favourite advertising theme, semi-naked women (left). I think the scenario is something like this – two women out for the night but have not had time to get ready because they work hard. So they bring their stuff with them and get changed in the taxi or some other vehicle. Whatever, they turn out brilliant.
However, JPS is back with a bunch of ultra-annoying 20-somethings (2/3 bearded men) sat on the roof – because they are so antisocial that they are not allowed inside – thinking up cool 
business ideas (presumably). A couple of laptops to symbolise work/creativity. One of the bearded men can do laptops and smoke simultaneously. Both the women are smoking but they don’t have laptops (men’s work?). The two other blokes are sockless, one of whom seems to be able to do amazing things with stools. I say no more.
Actually, I love the positioning of the poster next to a no-smoking sign!
All blue on the cigarette advertising front
As discussed for other brands, blue is the new black in the German cigarette advertising world. Gauloises is the latest bra
nd to go blue, uninspiringly so (left). Milder taste. Kein Schnickschnack – I’d buy it for that alone (no “bells and whistles” is a possible translation). I suppose the real whistle is “Krebs” – cancer to me and you.
The children are wise
I have just 
arrived back in Brighton, England, from my most recent visit to Munich. A favourite pastime there is photographing and commenting on cigarette advertising. It never ceases to amaze me.
Not so long ago I wrote a piece called Raddled Old Man (right) where the assumption is that if you smoke you will eventually turn into him having been a handsome chap (above left). Such is the impact of these lethal products.
Well, the children in Brighton have got it all sussed (right). Good for them.
Be informed 
