Scarcnet News Summaries (Advocacy Institute)
Letters Critical Of Marlboro Man As "Greatest Advertising Icon Of This Century"
Length: pages
Abstract
According to the editor of ADVERTISING AGE, the magazine received many letters criticizing the magazine's inclusion of Philip Morris' Marlboro Man in its promotion of an award for the "greatest advertising icon of this century." The editor attributed the large volume of mail to an electronic "Action Alert" sent out by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids on December 16th.The magazine published three of the responses to in its January 4th edition.
Dr. Thomas Robinson, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine wrote: "The Marlboro Man has contributed to many more deaths than Hitler, Pol Pot, Idi Amin, Slobodan Milosevic, Saddam Hussein and all other mass murderers this century, combined. . . . If AD AGE thinks the Marlboro Man is a great advertising icon, then I think it is time for the advertising industry to take a long look in the mirror to see if it can live with what it sees."
Patricia Sherwood, Advocacy Coordinator for the Coalition for a Smoke-Free Valley in Pennsylvania, noted that "Adolph Hitler made history, too, but we don't consider his image for notable awards." Eileen Fisher, from the Iowa Consortium for Substance Abuse Research and Evaluation, suggested that "ADVERTISING AGE create a 'Worst Ad Icon' or 'Socially Irresponsible Icon,' or some other equally distasteful award for the Marlboro Man advertising campaign."
Sources: Letters To The Editor, "The Marlboro Man: An Icon Or A Villain?" ADVERTISING AGE, January 4, 1999, p. 14.