Anne Landman's Collection
Raleigh Lights Campaign Critique
Abstract
Analyzes proposal for a campaign targeting truckers..."A strong image with definite sexual overtones: masculine, massive, sleek, long, powerful and dominating...Most drivers have had the experience of being tailgated or passed by a large truck on the open road. The noise, speed, and size of the vehicle can be intimidating; the truck usually gets it way....It is an achievable image...An assumption can be made that more young men 16-25 years old aspire to be truck drivers than explorers or cowboys."
Fields
- Author
- Miller, R.J.
- Recipient
- Schofield, M.W.
Document Images
(
TO:
FROM:
DAT~
SUBJECT:
M, W. Schofield
R. 5, Miller
April 21, 1981
RAL]~ICI~ LIGHTS Campslgn Critiqlle
~u~l~ a1~}r
(
Overall, the RALEIGH LIGI[TS campaign appears to be sound in its
stated objectives, imagery, a~d execution. I£ is a unique o~mp~i~n.
ThiB very uniqueness give~= the campaign additional strength, but at
the same time creates concerns Of potential t~rget audience alienation.
Some of the~e concerns are ¢~used by the very detailed, ~'ell defined
nature of the irnage,~y; again, an attribute tha~ is Mso responsible for
the campaign's 1~ain sthengihs. On the whole, th~ c~n~paign i~ well
suiied for its tsrgel audience. Its appeal to smokers outside of the
defh~cd audience would ~ecn_ ~o be ~plit alu~o~ evcnl2 between positive
~nd n[~g~ ~ive re~e~in~.
Definition of the Critique
Comments and observations are ba6ed on RALEICI{ LIC~TS proofo of
in-home m~erials, the billbaard$ in B&W'~ p~rking lo% the e~lendar.
and ex~m91c~ of competitorsI in horr_e m~t~ri~Is ~akcn from the z%d
Confer'once 1~oorn. POP r~erials, banners, or pr0moiional items
oth~r than the calendar were :lot considered.
Comparative imagery
Camel Lights. Ivlarlboro Light~. and Winston Lights kr~ag-=ry were
compared to ~AI,~IGH LIGI~T~ imagery.
The Camps]gns shame seversl bmsin premises. All campaigns are
rn~scullne in tone. portray mature, rugged n%~le~ engaged in tradl~fonally
hard, physical occupations (explorer/~oldier-of-fortune, cowboy, con~tr~c-
~i0n %yorker. tzn/cker), and are placed outdoors. All portray men who
n*~e 1~in control'~. dominating their respective environmeals (jungle/forest, ~
horse and cat~le, constr~ctlon si~es, and tractors). V/h~1 differentiates
the~e h-aagcs is their ability ~o provide material for £anthsizing, and
f
t~
%-- their achievability aE desirable images. Camel Lights' explorer/soldier-
of fortune and Marlboro LightsI cowboy are image6 rich, rich in th~ sense
of ~llo~ving readers ~ great latitude in fath~slzing, The sheer number of

-2-
(
hooks, films, end TV shows dealing with these figures has
explored for the targe% &~die~ce sunok=-r the ~rEous scenarios in
which ~he explorer/sotdler-of-fortune snd cowboy could exist°
It i.s as if the smoker w~ pi-e-progr&mrned rand primed fo~" day-
dream~ with himself as these characters. The Winston LiEhts
uol~t1"~ctin~1 worker aJ~d ~he I~ALEIGI~ LIGI~T~ ~ruuk~r hnag~s
offal~ less %o the smokel" in the w~y cf pt'e-cortceived scenarios,
and the scenal'ios are rno~e liraited due to the n&thre of the
oc~p~tons portr&yed. Carael Lights ~nd I~&rlboro Ligths offer
a ~l%ol'e exo%ic ~ppeal in terms of locale, ~und a more rornanLth
appeal in terms of occupation. Truck drivthg ~nd construotion
are more like work th~n inndin~ ca±tie or explbrth~ a junkie.
This ver~ dinhotomy in the two ~roups, however, may assisl
IRALEIOI~ LI~I~TS in ~ch[eving it~ goals. AiLhou~h the image of
the t~llc~ker Js ~%ot ~s exoif~ o~ ronl~'lntie a~ the irn~ges o~
explor~r/~oldier-of-forLune or cowbuy, iL is ~i auh[~v~bl~ i~g¢°
An a~surnptinn c~n he n%~de ±h~± more youn~ men 16-25 ye~'es old
Bspire to be truck dr£vers than explorers or cowboy~. The ~uck~"
is ~n image th~± is asplbed to -- that c~n be re~lized~ while soldiers
of-fob'tune a~Id cowboy~ at'e he~ lef% ~o book~, rnovie~ a~ad T¥ ~how~.
The irn~ge of tr~cke~ is, of course, well s~ithd to rn~rkeith~ the
hz'and in the truckin~ segment. Its por~r&y~l of ~he trucker as the
• e~bod[~enl of rn~sculinit~ a~d sofi-co~e values should ~ppe~l to
truckers. Winston Li~h~sI const~uetthn workel~ comes closest ~o
the RALEIGH LIGHTS c~mp~ign in imagcry, but [~ ver~ dlfferen~
in three ways: fLrst, the corls~ruc~ion worker is seldoril his own
boss and almost ~lway~ worka ctosoly ~ith others (the ~insthn
Lights ~ds that wex~e screened sho~ved txvo or more peoplb); second.
the construction worke~ is confined ~o a work site (&nd, ~o rornan%[
ci.ze the ~d, %york si~e~ rnx~st be unusua[ -- a dam, a b~id~e, etc.);
~nd third, the cons~rucffon worker is not a~sociated wiih & consistent
image-partner (s~ch as the Marlboro horse or the IRALEIGH LIGI~TS
I{en~vooth). The I{AL/~IG~I L[OI~TS ~ruckcr is l~is own man, w~rking
ii~delnende~tly; ~ not restricted to ~ ~pe~i~ %vor~-si~e or locale~ And
|~ the o%vner/m~r ~f ~n ~xpen~[v~, Lqa~ive, powerful nlachin~.
TO SXunmarize this ¢or0_parison, the RALEIGI~ LIGIiT~< trucker
irnag~r~d is less exotic and ~'ornantin th~n C~na~l o~ M~iboro ffn&ge~y,
but is &chiev~ble, "/his may be beneficial in c~pturin~ more s~&rte~s
~nd in rn~intaiming franchise. The RALEICI~ trucker Es his own boss,
~:~&vels widely, and controls an im&~e L~den piece of equipment.
;n

f
-3-
(
(
RALEIGH LICHTS Lmagcry
In the ads revinwed, the RALEIGH LIGHTS truck is more
dominant than the drlver. I~ is a strong nmage ~ith definite
sexuat overLoncs: ma~cu[ir~c, rnas~e. ~l~ek, long, po~cr~l,
and dominating. These overtones can be appealing to both men
and wonc~en. Most dr~ers have had th~ experience of beLag %ail-
~ted or pas~ed by a |argo tru~k on ~e open road. The noise,
speed, and size of the v~hicle can be hatimidating; the truck
generally gets its way. The truck is perceived as the force,
rather than the driver of the truck in these encounters. The
truck takes on ~ life "of its own.
A danger inherent in the RALEIGH LIGHTS cnmpnign is thai the
machine could become the overriding irna~e, g~ing the c~mpaign
a mcchaninai rather than humanlsftc tone. personally, the
n%o~t appealing ads were olios in which the trucker wa~ relaxing
by the truck. Ia the ads with the trucker in~ets, the size of the
inset decreased the irnportance of the trucker and reehced the
il, Lpact of the trucker'16 p~r~on~.lfty statement. Th~ ~td~
portray the trucker in a human fashion and reinforce the image of
man in control of his machines and envinollment.
T~le image of the trucker hu~iself ts a point for questlon. The
±r~cker as a symbol of humanness, masculinity, independence, aad
soft-core vaines is appeatin~ to both men and women. TO women.
~he trucker r~ay be the man they f~ntaGizc about in control,
somewhat dominating, s~rong, and silent. TO Iren, the trucker
i~ the man they picture themselves as being; or, the r~an they would
like to be.
The trucker (and truck) *nay. however, create negative impressions
in the minds of some people who conceive of trucking ~s a low
status, dirty, borin~ oec1~pation. ~ghile some ~omen think of the
trucker as a desirable person, nthers r~ay thing of him as a boorish,
xnacho-type who has no problem with leaving the ~vi~e and kids th
fend for themselves whiL~ h~ is out traveling and enjoying the
scenery. Others who have had unpleasant encounters with l~rg~
t~ck~ might ~ee th~ trucker as ~a intin~id~i~Ig --hreat.
The ca~upa[~n does not threaten to alienate women. AKain, the
qualities of the trucker are desirable, th~ truck is loaded with
sexual syrnbolinm, and no "threatening" females ~ppe~r In the ad
%o disrupt or destroy faninsiza~ion scenarios with the trucker.
A~other point is that fuli taste ~usli~ies h~ve trad[~innaily been
presented in mascuLtue-~ene advcrtising. A woman seeking a full
taste experience may take the over~ rnasculintt.~" of the RALEIGH
LIGHTS campaign as a positive c~e in her search for a brand
that meets her smoking needs.

-4-
(
(
(_
Concluding this segment of the critique, the image of truck and
trucker can he bolh pus~Live and negative. In th~ l~'~t audience,
positive elements outweigh the ~eg~ive. I would offer my opinion
[hut ncg~.ti~,~ r~sponse~ WDllld become propoPtion~ly ~r~l~r ~rno~lg
those outside the target audience. The largest threat th the success
of the carnpntgn ts over-~echanlzstion, 1. e., the humanness of the
driver can be lost in over-ernphas[s on the truck. In the e~rly
sta~es of the carn]=~ign, however, the trn~k iE irnDortan~ in estab-
lishing the premise of the carnpalgn, and in dlfferentin±ing the
aaIl]paigrl ~rom its competitors.
Campaign Execution
The scenic background of the ads were good because they were
p[cthresque and %bey portrayed a wide range of geographic locales.
One strength of ~he e~r~paign is iis ability to position the truck
and driver in any part of the country. This may he useful in achieving
yielder identification in specific areas.
The sense of motion in the photographs le excellent, p~rticul~rly
where the truck is rounding a curve and is slightly tilted.
~lhe I~ALEIGH LIGII~ typestyle is bold and masculine, is distinct
enough to identify [thelf vcith the brand, and is contcrnporary, yot
%radi~ionaIIachieved by the boldness of the characters combined
• ~vith serifs). Particularly effect~e ~vas the combination of the
white or yellow RALEIC=H LIGHTS name outlined or drop-shadowed
in blue. This t~chntque ~rnpha~ized ~nd clarified the n~rne. Although
the ~ypestyle of the copy differs ~roro the typestyin o~ the p~kage,
they ~pp~,r to cor~Iplemen~ ~ch udJ~r.
The use of the blue type was mor~ uff~ctiv~ with a light, uncluttered
baekgr~umd. The blue %yes recessive and difficult to read ~vhen
pos~foned over sky, gray~ or detail. The yellow used In ~?OP was
p~rl:tcularly effective in sep~ratthg copy from the background. It
is a warcc, non-garish color the, indirec=ly reflects the gold of the
puck. This color would be effea=ive when the need to emphasize
copy ~S required. Whi~e lettering in the ads reviewed worked well
over dark cluttered and uncluttered backgrounds.
Inserts of the driver on ads conveyed the ioforrnation that the trucker ~,~
•vas smoking, but did little to convey the personality of the driver
(~xcep~ for the close~up of th~ driver's face).
l~OP ads were particularly effective in establishing the driver's
relatlonship to the vehicle. The ~creen uEed rornsntieized t}e subject.
The inck of coinr d~t~il ~u~ph~ized the dr~r.
