Anne Landman's Collection
Report
Length: 9 pages
TCAL0404793-TCAL0404801
Abstract
This memo offers insight into how the tobacco industry uses a combination of psychology and mass media to influence elections. In 1998 California's Proposition 10, a measure to substantially raise cigarette taxes, made it onto the ballot was headed for a statewide vote. The tobacco industry was working hard behind the scenes to oppose it.
In order to influence elections, Tobacco Institute consultants do careful studies (through focus groups) to find specific themes that will resonate with specific blocks of voters. In this particular memo, a Tobacco Institute consultant is discussing how to influence gay and lesbian voters in California to oppose the tax measure. It was a difficult task because gay and lesbian groups were a constituency whose leaders, tobacco institute consultants knew, often opposed the tobacco industry. Nevertheless the pro-tobacco forces planned to forge ahead by doing an "end-run" around the gay/lesbian leadership:
"...Since it is apparent that we are not going to have the endorsement of most Gay and Lesbian leadership, it is important to use these campaign tools to bypass that and go directly to the Gay and Lesbian voter with a message that will resonate." Finding "messages that resonate" means finding themes with particularly strong appeal to certain targeted groups, in this case gays and lesbians. Such targeted themes enable the tobacco industry to "push people's buttons," and convince them vote against the tax measure. The writer of the memo explains that there are several themes important to the gay and lesbian community which they could exploit:
"There are several areas that would have special interest to this community. That would include lifestyle regulation, government intrusion into private lives, and removing choice as an option for one's life decisions. These themes need to be developed carefully by focus groups and polling." [emphasis in original]
Accordingly, the industry consultants planned to craft targeted messages to "push the buttons" of gay and lesbian voters in California, hoping to convince them to oppose the cigarette tax.
Fields
- Notes
(fileset_code WAS INVALID IN OLD DATABASE: NEWTI)
- Quotes
Grant,
I wanted to update you on my progress since my last report of May 16th...
...GAY AND LESBIAN MEDIA
We will have to move quickly once we understand the extent and the nature of the campaign in August. Some of the Gay and Lesbian publications are published quarterly and we must have camera-ready art to them quickly.
I will be advising on a full scale, "narrow cast" print media campaign in the Gay and Lesbian medial The message should be specifically targeted to the Gay and Lesbian community based on serious focus groups and polling. The only thing we don't know is if any of them have a policy against ads from the tobacco industry. Here are the publications we are concerned about...
4Front... The Advocate... The Bay Area Reporter... The Blade... The Bottom Line... Curve... Edge... FAB... Female FYI Frontiers News Magazine Frontiers News Magazine The Gay and Lesbian Times Gay Black Female Genre Girlfriends In Lesbian News AL Girl Guide Mom, Guess What? Odyssey Magazine The San Francisco Bay Times Twink Magazine Update
ISSUE DEVELOPMENT
...Since it is apparent that we are not going to have the endorsement of most Gay and Lesbian leadership, it is important to use these campaign tools to bypass that and go directly to the Gay and Lesbian voter with a message that will resonate. There are several areas that would have special interest to this community. That would include lifestyle regulation, government intrusion into private lives, and removing choice as an option for one's life decisions. These themes need to be developed carefully by focus groups and polling. We must be ready to immediately set the tone of the debate in early September. That means our message, materials and content must be decided by mid-August at the absolute latest, or we ill miss important deadlines...
- Company
- Tobacco Institute
- Author
- David Mixner, doing business as DBM Associates, as consultant to the Tobacco Institute "for the benefit of the Committee Against
- Recipient
- Grant Gillham, Joe Shumate & Associates, Inc. Sacramento, CA