Marketing Cigarettes and Snus to Upwardly Mobile Young Adults

Significance: Although tobacco use is more prevalent among those with lower socioeconomic status, some cigarette marketing campaigns specifically appeal to upscale aspirations. College students with greater income potential may be particularly vulnerable. Many current campaigns are rich with upscale imagery.

Objective: Describe the tobacco industry's previous goals and marketing strategies for using upscale imagery to target upwardly mobile young adults and compare them to current cigarette and smokeless tobacco campaigns.

Methods: Analysis of previously secret tobacco industry documents, and qualitative analysis of websites and advertisements for cigarettes and smokeless tobacco.

Results: Philip Morris (PM) repositioned Parliament in the 1990s to appeal to upwardly mobile young adults, who were viewed as a small but important segment of the cigarette market. While few young adults have high incomes, this is a common aspiration that coincides with the Parliament brand identity and advertising imagery. RJ Reynolds (RJR) developed a subsidiary “Moonlight” to sell specialty brands to appeal to the same “upscale” market segment. Upscale marketing campaigns may also appeal to smokers of lower socioeconomic status by integrating cultural values of wealth aspirations. We found similarities between the PM and RJR creative objectives and the advertising images utilized today for certain tobacco brands.

Conclusions: Upscale imagery is an important strategy to create aspirational campaigns that appeal to young adults. By understanding how tobacco companies target upscale users, and drawing commonalities between past and current campaigns, public health advocates can develop more effective countermarketing strategies to curb tobacco use.