![]() ![]() An internal analysis concluded that the European advertising had great potential but “it will be a slow and expensive process”. RJ Reynolds’ Camel brand sponsored cup competitions in Uruguay (Mundialito Uruguay), Japan (Toyota Cup) and venues across Europe for the European Cup Winners cup in the 1980s. “The commercialization of Jia-A league opened a brand new era of Chinese sports,” according to one study. Marlboro had eventually paid more than US$1.2m each year for the rights – which was twenty times more than the China Football Association’s organisational budget. 17 The sponsorship deal did end a year later, partly due to the advertising ban. 16 That deal went ahead despite the fact there was a law banning tobacco advertising in sports stadiums. It proposed spending US$9m over three years sponsoring the China National Football League. It said: “ Perceived as a very masculine, somewhat rugged sport very popular among YAMS, nicely complements F1 as a Marlboro property.” It proposed sponsoring regional and national cups and leagues and identified China, Indonesia, South Korea and Hong Kong as priority markets. In these regulatory gaps tobacco companies continue to exploit football brands, in particular in the continents of Africa, Asia and South America.Īn internal presentation from Philip Morris in 1994 outlined the benefits for targeting the Asian football market to promote the Marlboro brand. The practice is helped by the fact that the global governing body of football, FIFA, and its continental confederations such as UEFA, often have little authority over national leagues which are structured in a variety of ways. Tobacco companies have sponsored football leagues, clubs and cups around the world. Its top stars have ever-greater global exposure and marketing power which continue to make them attractive targets for tobacco companies. Since television money flooded into the game in the 1990s, football has vastly expanded its global reach. As part of its anti-smoking campaign, VPZ argued that “vaping is fundamental to reaching this target” and highlighted its “vape clinic” services. The retailer enlisted the services of former Tottenham and Liverpool player Neil “Razor” Ruddock to act as the campaign ambassador. More recently, VPZ, which operates e-cigarettes stores in the UK and has financial links with Philip Morris International, launched a campaign on 10 March 2022 to coincide with National No Smoking Day, calling for a “complete ban on smoking”. It subsequently focussed on motorsports content. 14 In 2012, Indonesian cigarette company Gudang Garam used its digital sports channel to form a link with Manchester United and England star Rio Ferdinand, before the footballer cut ties with the company. In 2002, the English Football Association threatened legal action against BAT after the company used images of England World Cup captain David Beckham and star, Michael Owen, in newspaper advertisements in Malaysia. Nonetheless, the attractiveness of using individual football stars continues – whether they wish to or not. Zinedine Zidane, Mario Balotelli and Fabien Barthez, are among those who have been criticised for setting a poor example. Where previously the England captain in the 1950s would be proudly pictured with a particular brand, now prominent footballers are often called out if seen smoking. However the code was widely felt to be ineffective and in other countries tobacco associations with the sport continued. In the United States in 1964, such testimonials were prohibited under the voluntarily Cigarette Advertising Code. Tobacco brands have used particularly well-known football stars to endorse their brands. “The pack is a powerful medium through which tobacco companies continue to associate their products with idealised concepts associated with sports,” the authors conclude. It found 36 brands with distinct “sports appeal” including the use of football imagery and text. An analysis by Kleb et al looked at cigarette packs from 14 low- and middle-income countries to see how many had sports-related themes. Tobacco brand names are still used to develop links with sport, including football. The practise all but stopped during the Second World War due to paper and tobacco shortages, but companies such as Carreras, now British American Tobacco (BAT), continued advertising, putting images on cigarette cartons. The cards, which featured cigarette advertisements, were placed inside cigarette boxes. 6 In the 1890s tobacco companies began producing collectible cards with images of football players. The tobacco industry initially promoted its products as a means of maintaining an athletic physique. Image from The use of sports imagery and terminology on cigarette packs from fourteen countries, Tobacco pack advertising Football-themed cigarette pack produced by Semarange in Indonesia in 2015. ![]()
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