TV Ban Looms For E-Cigarette Marketers
Big Tobacco has made a historic return to the airwaves and pages of consumer magazines with ads for e-cigarettes, but the days of regulation-free marketing may soon be over — and with them, a potentially lucrative new pipeline of ad dollars to networks and publishers.
E-cigarette makers have said they plan to continue marketing their product across a range of media unless and until a ban is introduced. “In lieu of regulations, we will look at all mediums — including TV, print, radio, point of sale and direct mail — to communicate with adult smokers,” David Howard, a spokesman for Reynolds American, told Ad Age last week as the company prepared to roll out a TV campaign in Colorado for its new e-cigarette Vuse (below).
Meanwhile, Lorillard’s Blu e-cigarette, which claims nearly 40% of the market share, introduced a TV and web campaign this summer with Jenny McCarthy. That followed an earlier TV and print campaign featuring actor Stephen Dorff.
