The
MARLBORO man
and the
Tobacco advertising ban.
The
MARLBORO man
and the
Tobacco advertising ban.
from
Between 1950 and the end of the last century, he was probably one of the best-known advertising icons: The Marlboro Man.
The Marlboro Man
Between 1950 and the end of the last century, he was probably one of the best-known advertising icons: The Marlboro Man. The cowboy who rode across the American prairie to spread the image of adventure and freedom for the cigarette industry was probably known to everyone, smokers and non-smokers alike. Now the most famous of them has died. An occasion to shed light on the changes in tobacco advertising.
Darell Winfried
Darrell Winfried, probably the best-known Marlboro man, died this week at the age of 85, as the FAZ reports.
Cigarette advertising, which used to be ubiquitous, has now largely disappeared due to increasingly strict legal requirements.
Until the 1990s, there were still cigarette promotions, Formula 1 cars with cigarette logos and heaps of cigarette advertising, but at the beginning of this millennium, the Tobacco Advertising Directive banned advertising for tobacco products in the press, radio, Internet television and for sponsorship in the EU. Currently, only billboard advertising at points of sale and advertising films in cinemas in the evening are still permitted.
Tobacco advertising bans
There are also bans on the content of tobacco advertising. For example, it is no longer permitted to give the impression that the consumption of tobacco products is harmless to health or is suitable for having a positive effect on the functioning of the body, performance or well-being. Advertising must also not be aimed at young people or make the inhalation of tobacco smoke appear worthy of imitation. The Marlboro Man is therefore unlikely to exist today.
The remaining advertising opportunities for the tobacco industry may also be abolished. In future, instead of the Marlboro Man, packs will be adorned with shock images of smokers’ lungs and other consequences of smoking. At any rate, this is what the new tobacco directive , which came into force on 20.05.2014, envisages, although it is still awaiting implementation in Germany, but will also apply in Germany from 20.05.2016 at the latest.
In future, existing warnings such as “Smoking is deadly” will become mandatory throughout Europe, as will the statement “Tobacco smoke contains over 70 substances that have been proven to be carcinogenic”.
The now popular e-cigarette is also covered by the directive and the advertising bans it contains. In this respect, they are largely treated in the same way as tobacco products. In the past, the courts have already banned statements to the effect that e-cigarettes are more harmless than cigarettes.
The OLG Hamm (Judgment of 22.10.2013 – Ref. 4 U 91/13 ) banned the statement that an e-cigarette is “at least 1,000 times less harmful than a tobacco cigarette” as misleading.
Advertising that e-cigarettes are completely harmless to health was previously banned by Arnsberg Regional Court(judgment of 15. 10. 2012 – Ref. 41 HK O 303/12). Similarly, the Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt am Main(judgment of 27.02.2014 – Ref. 6 U 244/12 ). The new directive should provide more clarity in this area for e-cigarettes.
Conclusion
Tobacco advertising is now hardly possible and, if it is, it is largely regulated, so that manufacturers and sellers have to pay meticulous attention to the legal requirements if they do not want to expose themselves to competition law claims. The days of the Marlboro Man’s adventure and freedom are certainly over for the tobacco industry.
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