Use of media advocacy and community organizing to combat tobacco industry marketing to women

Research has shown that tobacco companies have emphasized the connection between smoking and weight control to market cigarettes to women. Historically, most cigarette advertising campaigns have used subtle copy and imagery to allude to this link. In contrast, a 1994 Virginia Slims ad, known internally as the “Hot Dog” ad, was more explicit in its visual and tagline. It featured a slender woman seated at a lunch counter, laughing and holding a cigarette while pushing away a plate of French fries, and the copy read, “If I ran the world, calories wouldn't count.” This study explores the Hot Dog ad's development, as well as consumer and public health advocates' response to the ad. Over 75 internal tobacco industry documents made public through the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement are analyzed, and information found in industry documents is triangulated with data gleaned from interviews with federal officials and advocates. Analyses reveal that advocates launched a grassroots letter-writing campaign in response to the Hot Dog ad, demanding that Philip Morris pull the ad because it suggested “the use of your product as a weight control [device].” The letter-writing campaign earned broadcast and print media coverage, garnered widespread support from national health organizations, and likely contributed to a Federal Trade Commission investigation of Philip Morris's advertising practices. This study underscores how media advocacy and community organizing strategies can be successful in countering tobacco industry marketing to women. Implications for public health and tobacco control advocates are discussed.