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Do shock ads on cigarette packs work? A blogger’s view from Canada October 30, 2006

Posted by Farrukh Naeem at copywriterjournalist.com in : Advertising, Business Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility, Ethics in Advertising, Marketing, Shock Advertising, Tobacco Advertising , 9 comments

In Canada, cigarette packs feature vivid pictures of the after-effects of smoking. Rotten gums and cancerous internal organs. Really creepy pictures. Does this communication approach (shock and awe) work for smokers?

Following a comment on my post on tobacco advertising, I discovered an out-of-the-box analysis of the smoking problem on Ben and Heather’s blog from Canada. They feel that the reason why we don’t take the smoking issue seriously is because its effects aren’t immediate. Here’s what they write:

“In a world where people live with a buy now, pay later mentality (thank you Visa, Mastercard, AMEX), we are conditioned to act now and worry about the consequences of those actions later. We don’t invest in RRSPs for retirement for the same reason we don’t worry about smoking: The debt and the diseases won’t hit us until years later and by then it’s too late….What we need is something that will make us act now, without hesitation.”
- Ben and Heather of thecourtjester.wordpress.com

And what would that be? Why not visit Ben and Heather at The Court Jester and find out yourself - be warned though, it’s a crazy one!

farrukh

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The Middle East Gets Its Own Advertising Awards: Enter the Dubai Lynx October 29, 2006

Posted by Farrukh Naeem at copywriterjournalist.com in : Advertising, Advertising Awards, Advertising in Dubai, Dubai Lynx Awards, Marketing , 3 comments

UPDATE: Dubai Lynx 2008 coverage and pictures from the event on www.copywriterjournalist.com:

1. 2nd Dubai Lynx Awards entries cross the 2000 mark in 2008
2. Dubai Lynx shortlists, advertising seminars and workshops keep delegates busy on Day 1
3. Steve Harrison shares tips on pitching big advertising ideas to hesitant clients at Dubai Lynx
4. Dubai Lynx awards winners and pictures
5. Dubai Lynx Awards winners’ pictures in Outdoor category

Below: The first Dubai Lynx held in year 2007 - and how it felt:

Bringing home a Cannes Lion this year has done wonders for Dubai. Dubai will now be the host of awards called Dubai Lynx Awards every year, thanks to the UAE Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA) which brought us the world’s largest ever IAA World Congress (I had blogged about it earlier this year), Dubai Media City and International Advertising Festival (IAF), the wonderful people who bring us the Cannes Lions and the Eurobest Awards.

The annual Dubai Lynx Awards will honour excellence in advertising and marketing communications in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) across TV/Cinema, Print, Outdoor, Interactive, Radio, Direct and Integrated campaigns. Yeah, we’re getting there, people. Make way for Middle Eastern creativity!

“The decision to run the Dubai Lynx Awards was based on the significant potential growth in the region and the emergence, in the global village in which we operate, of work outstanding enough to win Lions at Cannes.”
Terry Savage
Executive Chairman
Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival

The winners of the first Dubai Lynx Awards will be announced on 19 March 2007 in Dubai. The organisers have announced two jury presidents for the awards. Jonathan Harries, Worldwide Chief Creative Officer, Draft FCB Group will head the first TV/Cinema, Print, Outdoor and Radio jury.
Fred Koblinger, CEO PKP Proximity & BBDO Holding Austria, Vienna, Austria will lead the first Interactive & Direct jury.

You can submit your entries online from Tuesday 12 December 2006 onwards at Dubai Lynx website here.

Useful links on Dubai Lynx Awards
AdWeek: Dubai Lynx Names Jury Presidents
Arab News: Entries for Dubai Lynx Awards Start From Dec. 12

Tobacco Advertising: Will you do it? Or will you say ‘No’? October 16, 2006

Posted by Farrukh Naeem at copywriterjournalist.com in : Advertising, Corporate Social Responsibility, Ethics in Advertising, Marketing, Tobacco Advertising , 15 comments

An interesting post has been put up by Richard Abbott on the Campaign Middle East blog - we’re having The great tobacco debate there. I have provided a few reasons why publications should and do refuse to publish ads that encourage the fatal habit of smoking. Some of the most reputed publications in the world like The New York Times, Reader’s Digest, Business Week refuse tobacco advertising.

I am posting a few highlights here, in continuation of my blog posts on social responsibility. You are welcome to comment and share your insights.

What happens when we make and publish tobacco, cigarette and smoking ads?

Smoking kills more people than car accidents, alcohol, homicides, illegal drugs and suicides combined. The following is what we are doing when we create, design or publish ads promoting tobacco and smoking:

[Based on the Surgeon Genera's report 'Reducing the health consequences of smoking: 25 years of progress' USDHHS, 1989 as published on ASH's website]

Everyday, around 4,000 children try a cigarette and take their first step towards becoming nicotine addicts. They tend to start off with the most advertised brands.

Does controlling tobacco advertising help?

A study commissioned by the New Zealand government across 33 countries over 16 years from during 1970 to 1986 demonstrated that the higher the degree of governmental control on tobacco advertising and sponsorship, the larger the annual reduction of tobacco consumption.

Further on this point, UK Department of Health’s Chief Economic Adviser reported a drop in tobacco consumption of between 4% and 16% in countries that had implemented a tobacco advertising ban.

So, curbs on tobacco advertising do work and that is the reason why many countries have already put them in place and more are starting to do so. Perhaps UAE will follow suit too, knowing its passion for keeping up with the highest standards of living being followed across the world.

Useful Links:
1. CDC’s Tobacco Infomation & Prevention Source (TIPS): Home Page, Fact Sheets
2. GLOBALink’s Answers to Pro-tobacco Advertising Arguments
3. Action on Smoking and Health (ASH): Effects of Tobacco Advertising & Promotion
4. Smokefree.gov - Online Guide to Quitting Smoking and Useful Downloads
5. Office of the Surgeon General: Homepage, Toxic Substances in Smoke, Dangers of Secondhand Smoke
6. Tobacco.org’s Tobacco Timeline: 21st Century Tobacco History 

farrukh