Does RJ Reynolds Target Teenage Girls

A national study of 1,036 adolescent boys and girls tracked whether U.S. teens could report the brand of a favorite cigarette advertisement, using five surveys from 2003 to 2008. Prior studies have shown that teens who can report a favorite ad are 50 percent more likely to start to smoke, and also to become established adult smokers. As reported in the study, “Camel No. 9 Cigarette-Marketing Campaign Targeted Young Teenage Girls,” published in the April issue of Pediatrics (released online March 15), across the first four surveys, the rates of both boys and girls with a favorite ad remained stable. In 2007, prior to the fifth survey, RJ Reynolds released an innovative, fashion-themed marketing campaign for Camel No. 9 cigarettes, featuring a pink camel and “Stilleto” sub-brand of cigarettes. Print ads for Camel No. 9 resembled a fashion spread and were placed in five of the top 10 U.S. magazines by teen readership. After the Camel No. 9 marketing campaign began, the fifth teen survey showed a 10 percentage point increase in girls reporting a favorite cigarette ad, with most of the increase attributed to the Camel brand. No similar change was noted for boys, or for Marlboro brand by either gender. These findings suggest that the Camel No. 9 cigarette marketing campaign may have effectively targeted under-aged girls in the U.S. 

For additional information click here.