Tobacco Documents Online

This internal Philip Morris Australia (PM) memorandum by Matthew Winokur of PM Worldwide Regulatory Affairs reveals a gold mine of corporate strategy to "head off regulations" in Australia. Winokur discusses PM's ownership of the Vegemite name, a brand strongly identified with Australia, and the Australian public's resentment of foreign ownership of the name. He discusses what PM may be able to do about it.

Adding to our already strong evidence that PM uses youth programs as tools to stave off regulation, Winokur identifies "concessions" that PM can use when negotiating with the Australian government, with one being "developing campaigns to prevent youth from smoking." Winokur says such a program "should be developed as ammunition if and when needed, since its clear that tobacco issues can move very quickly in Australia," saying "these shorts of projects [youth programs] could help 'move the needle.'"

Winokur considers using the Kraft General Foods name (KGF) to "help tobacco" in Australia, and considers whether doing so would "hamper KGF's agenda." He discusses which individuals could be recruited to help PM attack Australian Ministerial Councils "on the grounds that they 'waste taxpayers' money' and 'cost business.' "

Perhaps most tellingly, Winokur reiterates PM's strategy of broadening any debate on tobacco by shifting the focus off of health issues:

"The objective...is not only to create allies but 'shift the debate' from tobacco to broader issues and thus change the battleground. As long as we try to fight on the anti's agenda, we'll get nowhere."

This 1985 marketing document prepared for Philip Morris International (PMI) reports on the results of interviews with West German smokers. It frequently employs the phrase "young adults," but respondents to the interviews were as young as 16 years old. The document discusses the need to create "youthful" brands for "entry level smokers" in Germany. Pg. 247 (Bates No. 2501027765) says the "current positioning of Marlboro Lights/Lights 100s is somewhat disturbing" because it appeals to "feminine" and "health conscious smokers." It laments that this positioning could "potentially weaken the masculine image of Marlboro," and discusses re-positioning the brand for "health conscious/ sports conscious smokers, i.e, promoted by tennis players, hikers, etc.". Page 249 (Bates No. 2501027767) highlights the importance of vending machines as a source of cigarettes for young smokers: "Vending machines are a very important sales outlet, particularly for young smokers." It further suggests that "Marlboro should therefore keep flexibility in pricing and number of sticks offered in order to continue to compete effectively in the vending machine for the younger market..."

A section entitled "A Younger Cigarette Brand" (Page 250, Bates No. 2501027768) also worries about the erosion of Marlboro's appeal to "very young smokers" and proposes a remedy for the problem:

"There is some evidence that as the Marlboro franchise grows...its specific appeal to very young smokers may lessen. There could be a significant opportunity for a new young masculine full flavor cigarette that provides an image of easy carefree living."

This document makes clear the emphasis placed on youth for the purposes of marketing cigarettes.

This 20-page treatise on the philosophy and symbolism of the Camel pack discusses the psychological symbolism of each of the visual elements on the pack, and their effect on consumers. It states, "...the very idea of putting philosophy...on something commercial and commonplace...is shocking...R.J. Reynolds, a consumer products company, dared in 1914 to offer the American people a piece of philosophy, while pretending to merely be selling cigarettes." [Page 16 "Camel Heritage."] The phallic symbolism is touched on briefly, as are the themes of independence, rebellion, self-sufficiency, serenity, etc.

The document was apparently written by an advertising agency working for R.J. Reynolds. It makes clear the value to marketing of cigarette logos and brand identification. It also indicates that a measure requiring plain packaging for all brands of cigarettes could be a potent public health policy.