Marlboro maker accused of exploiting' young people with new global ad campaign

"Anti-tobacco campaigners have condemned a global advertising campaign for Marlboro by Philip Morris International (PMI), saying the company is being duplicitous in claiming it wants to end cigarette sales. The I AM Marlboro campaign which experts on the tobacco industry said appeared designed to attract young people includes billboards, TV ads and online content. Roadside stands selling Marlboro cigarettes in the Philippines have run competitions to win a scooter or campaign-branded merchandise by buying the cigarettes."

"PMI's chief executive, Jacek Olczak, said three years ago that cigarettes belong in museums, and that the company was shifting towards alternatives such as vapes. However, Mark Hurley, vice-president at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said: You can't claim that cigarettes belong in a museum while launching a global campaign to make Marlboro cigarettes a core part of how young people see themselves."

"The campaign exploits young people's search for identity, belonging and self-expression and ties it to Marlboro cigarettes. For a company that claims to be moving beyond cigarettes, this looks less like a transition and more like doubling down. The new promotional campaign echoes PMI advertising from more than a decade ago, which used the slogan Be Marlboro, and which was banned in Germany over concerns it appealed to teenagers."

"Jorge Alday, director of Stopping Tobacco Organizations and Products (Stop) at Vital Strategies, said: The I AM' campaign lays bare the duplicity in Philip Morris International's claims to want to end cigarette sales. Part of the Be Marlboro campaign that was banned in Germany more than a decade ago over concerns that it appealed to teenagers."

PMI launched the I AM Marlboro campaign featuring billboards, TV ads, and online content. Roadside cigarette stands in the Philippines promoted competitions offering scooters or branded merchandise in exchange for buying Marlboro cigarettes. An Indonesian TV advert shows young adults climbing mountains and rehearsing in a rock band. PMI has filed or owns campaign-related trademarks in about 20 countries. PMI’s chief executive previously said cigarettes belong in museums and that the company is shifting toward alternatives such as vapes. Critics argue the campaign links Marlboro to identity and self-expression, making it appear like continued promotion rather than a transition away from cigarettes.

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