It's a well-known fact that alcohol and tobacco companies have been preparing for the day that governments decide to ban their advertising rights in the name of the public good. For tobacco it seems that day just got closer, with the British government considering plans to strip all branding from cigarette packs. Clearly, a touchy subject, this news has stirred up some award-wining PR spun arguments.
BrandRepublic published a range of reactions to the news with branding experts re-branding the topic and taking it on the offensive together with lobbyists and confectionery giants right behind them; while charities and research centres keep up on the defensive. Here are some key sides to the argument:
"It means there is a loss of incentive for companies to invest in quality and reputations because they have no way to communicate that to consumers. While I’m sure the familiar brands will continue, if you were to launch a new product into the market it can only be a price fighting product and if that is a means of reducing prices to consumers then actually it may result in more people smoking rather than less because it becomes a very price sensitive market." - John Noble, Director, British Brands Group
"And, as over 40 years of increased duty on cigarettes has done little to dampen smoking habits, what makes anyone think putting tobacco in white packs with Helvetica type will?" - Paul Porter, Planning Director, Mars/Y&R
"The third thing is they are plainly less attractive to children, kids just don’t like the look of them and they take away all that cool appeal. The tobacco industry claims that plain packaging will give it an extra mystique for young people to make it look forbidden. If they really thought that was the case they would be doing it already. Their research and our research shows plain packs are a big turn off for young people." - Martin Dockrell, Director of Research & Policy, ASH
"Our trademarks are protected by law and we have a fundamental right to differentiate our brands from those of our competitors." - Imperial Tobacco
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