Because of a 1998 settlement that banned cigarette ads from being formatted as cartoons, R.J. Reynolds could face sanctions as high as 0 million.
The campaign, which featured artwork by Benjamin Marra, appeared in the November 15 issue of Rolling Stone. For its 40th anniversary, the music magazine showcased R.J. Reynolds's campaign supporting independent record labels. Each ad then "opened up" and revealed editorial content.
However, according to Matthew L. Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids in Washington, "This [was] one great big cigarette ad." And "[t]he fact that Rolling Stone produced the content but displayed it in such a manner that it is indistinguishable from the Camel ad only makes them an accomplice."
Joe Camel, "the advertising mascot for Camel cigarettes," was banned in July 1997. Allegedly, the cartoon was targeting children, and according to Wikipedia, "more children five and six years old could recognize Joe Camel than could recognize Mickey Mouse or Fred Flintstone."
"Unfortunately, this is not new territory for R.J. Reynolds," said Tom Corbett, the attorney general in Pennsylvania who has filed suit against the company. "When that tobacco settlement was created, the 'Joe Camel' advertising campaign was singled out as an especially offensive effort to market to children. Now, nearly a decade later, cartoons are still being used to promote the Camel brand."
"We view this cartoon-based advertising campaign as a flagrant violation of the 1998 national tobacco settlement, which includes an outright ban on the use of any cartoon in tobacco advertising," continued Corbett. "Our lawsuit is part of what we hope becomes a nationwide legal action seeking more than $100 million in sanctions against R.J. Reynolds for violating the cartoon ban."
Along with "seeking sanctions of at least $7 million for the printed copies" of the ads and $100 for each "hit" on R.J. Reynolds's website, Corbett's lawsuit also demands that these campaigns be removed from all websites, ads, and other materials.
Other states backing up the lawsuit include Maryland, California, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Washington, and Connecticut.
Attorney General Douglas Gansler filed a similar suit in the Baltimore City Circuit Court on December 4. Gansler sued Reynolds for a minimum of $2.5 million and specifically wants $100 for every magazine that was distributed in Maryland, $100 for each CD R.J. Reynolds distributed, and $100 for every visitor hit on R.J. Reynolds's "The Farm Rocks" website.
"Nine years after we thought we had seen an end to the predatory marketing practices of the old days, Reynolds continues to use the deadly charm of cartoons and merchandise to entice new customers," said Gansler.
However, according to an R.J. Reynolds spokesman, there was a "clear delineation" between the ads created by Reynolds and the editorial content provided by Rolling Stone. And the publisher at Rolling Stone ("a unit of Wenner Media in New York") said that the advertisers "had no idea [the campaign] would take a cartoon format."
Founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and Ralph J. Gleason, Rolling Stone showcases both music and the "attitudes that music embraces," according to Wenner.
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