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How One Good Marketing Idea Can Lead to Millions of Premature Deaths: The Battle for Market Share Among Adolescent SmokersJoseph R DiFranza, MDDepartment of Family Medicine and Community HealthUniversity of Massachusetts Medical School

Adolescent Developmental TasksEstablish masculine/feminine identityEstablish individuality Establish independenceFeel accepted by peersTobacco companies commissioned research to discover the psychological vulnerabilities of children.Young males are going through a stage where they are seeking to express their independence and individuality under constant pressure of being accepted by their peers. Imperial TobaccoCigarette ads were designed to exploit adolescents psychological vulnerabilities to foster addiction.The Tempo brand is targeted atIndividuals who are extremely influenced by their peer group. RJR MacDonaldExport smokers will be perceived as characterized by their self-confidence, strength of character and individuality that makes them popular and admired by their peers. RJR MacDonaldVery young starter smokers chose Export A because it provides them with an instant badge of masculinity, appeals to their rebellious nature, and establishes their position amongst their peers.- RJR MacDonaldPeer acceptance

Only smooth characters allowed

Independence

Independence

Individuality

Feminine Identity

Masculine Identity

Research showsChildren as young as age 3 can match cigarettes with ads for cigarettes. -RichardsKids understand the message of advertising before they understand the purpose of advertising. -Aitken Children who like cigarette ads are more likely to intend to smoke when they are older. -AitkenChildren who approve of cigarette advertising are twice as likely to begin smoking in the coming year. AlexanderChildren get their positive images of smoking from advertisingBritish experienceChildren who had favorite cigarette ads were twice as likely to believe there are benefits to smoking.Children who believe that smoking will make them more popular are 4.7 times more likely to smoke.

1988

RJ Reynolds internal documentsThe 81 documents contrast sharply with the company's repeated public declarations that it does not target young people, collectively sketching a picture of a company that seemed decades ago to determine that its financial future depended on recruiting a new generation of smokers. The Washington Post

What was the impact of this competition for the youth market?

What was the impact of this competition for the youth market?