A Review of Cigarette Marketing in Canada -- 4th Edition -- Winter 2003

Imperial Tobacco REVS up on-line promotions.
Imperial Tobacco has re-profiled its Players promotion with less fanfare than its Definiti re-branching, but has taken a similar approach.  Both brands are managed by its new subsidiary, Rumbling Walls, which uses events, entertainment, publications, web-sites and beautiful women to draw clients to its products.
The brand image for Players ("masculine independence") has been effectively portrayed for more than a decade through the sponsorship of Player's CART racing.  Car racing has enabled Imperial Tobacco to advertise through television broadcasts, sports news coverage and retail displays.
Because of the changes in Canadian law, Imperial Tobacco ended its involvement in racing during the summer of 2003.  Nonetheless, racing promotions for Players continue to linger even.  (CART displays remain in many Canadian retail stores.)
Since October 2003, the primary promotional vehicle for Player's cigarettes (outside of retail stores), is Rev Magazine. Rev Magazine (sent to 120,000 Canadians) is a Maxim-style blend of sports, girls, music, and girls.  The first edition was issued three years ago by Toronto's Multi-Vision Publishing, owned by St. Joseph Media.   A review of REV and its sister publication (Pursuit, now Definiti) and points out  "Because these publications are primarily vehicles for Imperial Tobacco to deliver ads to a specific audience (male smokers aged 19 to 24 for REV and adults 19 to 34 for Pursuit), the content is essentially filler.  Style becomes the most important thing, not editorial quality."	In its own words: "REV is edited for a select audience of Canadian men. Adventure, toys, playing to win -- REV is a magazine for adult men who are socially active, physically competitive, curious about their world and always ready to try something new."                       - REVMasthead
The content of REV is familiar to anyone who has visited a locker-room or peeked under the bed of their older brother.  Lots of stuff designed to appeal to a certain kind of boy -- Cars, girls, sports, toys.  There's even short videos of frolicking bikini-clad 'Rev girls.'  Everything is cast in that familiar light blue of Player's.
Even the mailing envelope for REV is rich with Player's brand imagery.

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