You don't need to be a rocket scientist to appreciate that the cigarette ads on the posters illustrated below were not penned with mature individuals in mind. But, admittedly, there is nothing definitive that would lead one to conclude they were intended for children. On occasions the words or phrases are somewhat trendy - the word squillions did make it into the terminology of trendy late teens and young adults in the late 1990's. However, even although it could be argued that most of these lines were written with adults in mind, it is much more likely that they originated in brainstorming sessions among 'creative' advertising personnel only too aware that their client tobacco companies need to catch their customers young.
Most cheap brands make use of similar devices, focussing on adolescent humour or unusually unsophisticated use of language and visuals. These are sufficient to circumvent the ASA guidelines on advertising to minors. This technique developed because the tobacco company message to ad agencies is simple. " Pitch the campaign as if it were directed towards adults. It will therefore get past the Advertising Standards Authority when they evaluate the ad campaign at the concept stage. But, as our target audience falls into a younger age group, ensure that the message will also appeal to under age kids. "
Cartoon type characters such as Regal's Reg were banned in the UK some years ago because of their obvious appeal to underage and unsophisticated smokers. There would be extreme concern if UK companies made any overt attempts to 'import' characters such as the cute Camels featured in Camel ads (see Viva España and Camel pages). For the same reasons beware imported magazines. The Yanks page considers the extent to which British audiences are now exposed to American ads for cigarettes. British ads for cigarettes have clear cut guidelines as to what is and is not permissible. Ads thus have to be carefully tailored to appeal to underage smokers whilst appeaing to be directed towards adults with a preference for the cheaper branded cigarettes.
