• by October 31, 2008

A new wave of attacks on the marketing tactics of Big Tobacco toward women and youth have been underway in recent days. On Friday, the American Legacy Foundation and Susan G. Komen for the Cure called plans by Philip Morris to roll out new pink "Purse Packs" for selected Virginia Slims brands a "serious public health threat" and an "insult"--especially since the news arrived in October, when the color pink has come to be associated with National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The "Purse Packs" were also condemned on Thursday by the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, American Medical Association and Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids. A joint statement called the plans "contempt for women's health" and a "cynical marketing ploy," with the timing labeled "the height of cynicism": "when pink is usually associated with protecting women's health, not harming it."

Meanwhile, the American Legacy Foundation's truth®, which bills itself as the only national anti-smoking campaign not directed by the tobacco industry, took direct aim at that industry's marketing tactics toward youth during a just-concluded MTV tie-in.

MTV and truth® teamed up for a series of 60-second weekly spots during "Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Island" that satirized the series while delivering an anti-smoking message to its youthful audience.

Called "The Blaze," the spots mirrored the challenges seen on "The Island" but used fictional characters to illustrate not only the dangers of tobacco but the marketing tactics of the tobacco industry. And unlike other reality shows, in this alternative version, most of the contestants wound up injured, maimed or even eaten by sea monsters.

In the "challenge" titled "Mystery Pool," for example, two contestants were asked to swim to the bottom of a pond and collect as many gold coins as they could in 30 seconds. The pond was black and oozing, and contained what appeared to be a sea monster, judging by the tentacle sliding through it. The host explained that he was "not legally obligated" to tell them what is in the pool.

After the contestants jumped in for their 30 seconds, the host called them back, only to be answered with a burp from the "pond monster." The voiceover then said: "Products like chips and cereal list ingredients on their labels, but cigarettes, a product that kills a third of its users, don't."

All of the fictional challenges ended with a voiceover commenting: "The real challenge is how Big Tobacco gets away with this stuff." Like any reality show, of course, The Blaze lives on with character postings, chats, videos and more on the Web at http://iamonmtv.com/ theblaze. MTV has run truth® PSAs since the youth smoking prevention campaign's inception in 2000, and has also helped out with online and outdoor ad opportunities, the American Legacy Foundation noted. And cartoon characters from the "Sunny Side of truth®," the group's 2008 ad campaign, popped up during episodes of "The Real World XX: Hollywood." Those animated characters appear in "Sunny Side" TV spots, accompanying live actors who start singing and dancing after learning about the "hidden positives" of cigarettes.

The "Sunny Side" campaign has also recently added several other marketing elements, including a user-generated re-mix contest on imeem.com; video podcasts distributed through VH1, The N, G4, and fuel; and "billboards" integrated into Rockstar Games' new release, "Midnight Club Los Angeles." Ads continue running before movies popular with teens in 1550 theaters via Screenvision.

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