 Too
Kool.
In the fall of 2002, British American Tobacco's Canadian subsidiary,
Imperial Tobacco, re-launched the KOOL brand in Canada.
The
promotional campaign used to re-launch the brand showed how permeable
regulatory controls on tobacco promotion can be in the face of a
marketing onslaught.
The launch of KOOL cigarettes
showed at least FIVE ways in which BAT's Canadian subsidiary slipped
through restrictions on promotion to launch this brand.
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#1
BAT used the
internet to reach young Canadians.
KOOL cigarettes were launched by Imperial Tobacco with a website (www.theicebox.ca,
now defunct) promoting nightclub events and a contest (for smokers only)
to attend the events. |
(click
to enlarge the snapshot of the ICEBOX web-site) |
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#2
BAT used a brand name which is heavily promoted through
imported advertising.KOOL cigarettes are a flagship brand for BAT’s U.S. subsidiary, Brown
and Williamson. KOOL is one of the more heavily advertised youth brands
in the United States and is heavily promoted in popular youth magazines
– like Rolling Stone, Maxim and Sports Illustrated.
The Canadian
cigarette is made from different tobacco and has a different taste, but
BAT is able to use the same name and marketing.
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(click
to enlarge the snapshot of foreign KOOL promotions that may appear in
Canada) |
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#3.
Retail displays put the new brand before the nose of virtually every
Canadian (eye-level for children).
Although the Tobacco Act allows the government to restrict the number or
size of tobacco displays, no regulations have been developed in this
area. Some provinces (like New Brunswick) have banned counter-top
displays, and Saskatchewan and Manitoba have legislated bans on retail
displays. Ironically, this last measure was struck down in a
Saskatchewan court because it was considered to infringe on federal
authority. |
(click
to enlarge the snapshot of KOOL retail displays ) |
|
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#4.
Bar events were used to create lifestyle imagery -- which was
subsequently promoted through web-sites.
BAT was
able to create lifestyle imagery for this brand through through the staging of nightclub
events, and by circulating images of the event. Pictures mounted on the
web-site show that the KOOL logo, colours and imagery is displayed
without any indication that these cigarettes are both lethal and
addictive.
|
(click
to enlarge this picture from a KOOL ICEBOX event) |
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#5
BAT invented new words to continue suggesting that some of its brands
were less dangerous than others.
Canadians waited
for the government to make good on its plan to ban misleading
descriptors such as 'light' and 'mild. Meanwhile Imperial
Tobacco has introduced a new descriptor,
'Frost'.
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(click
to enlarge this picture of the KOOL FROST package) |
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KOOL continues to be marketed in Canada, but
after the initial launch, Imperial Tobacco pulled back on its marketing
investment. The web-site was pulled, and the counter-top displays
have been replaced by displays for other brands, such as du Maurier,
Players, Matinee and Avanti.
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International "Kool"
Nightclub promotions |
Bathroom KOOL
Canadian
marketing firm "the Studio
Upstairs" developed Nbox promotions for KOOL in bathrooms.
These DVD quality audio and video flat-screen monitors are placed
in washrooms in the United States (and Canada?. As a customer
approaches, they begin playing a high-energy rave-style promotion for
KOOL cigarettes. |
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Jamaica
Olympic KOOL
BAT's
Jamaican subsidiary Cigarette Company of Jamaica's, or CCJ, recently
launched KOOL cigarettes in Kingston Jamaica using similarly styled
parties.
The
Jamaican Observer reported that the night-club launch attracted
Olympic athletes Sandy Richards (right) and Juliet Cuthbert (second
left) - pictured here with Kool Menthol green-clad CCJ executive
David Magnus (second right).
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 |
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KOOL Research
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University of Regina marketing researcher, professor
Anne Lavack, reported on tobacco
industry use of nightclub events to reach young audiences.
See:
Tobacco related bar promotions:
insights from tobacco industry documents
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KOOL Sales
Kool cigarettes
were regularly sold in Canada from before 1976 until 1994, when they were withdrawn
following slumping sales.
ITL took
advantage of the year-of-no-restrictions-on-advertising to try
(unsuccessfully) to re-launch the brand in 1996.
Six years later
they again gave it the good old college try. Monthly sales in the
2002-2003 period suggest that this attempt was no more successful.
BAT has other
international brands which are not yet sold in Canada.
We will have to wait to see whether this experience will cause them
to, um, kool their heels before introducing brands like Lucky Strike
intro Canada.
l
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Kool Sales
1976 - 2002
Kool Sales by
Month, 2002 - 2003
data courtesy of
Health Canada Tobacco Control Program -- thanks! |
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