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ASH Daily News
5 December 2001


HEADLINES

Smokers may discover sticks in their Christmas stockings
Rothmans declines to lift Santa Fe bid
Incognito PM aka Altria exmanined


FULL TEXT


Smokers may discover sticks in their Christmas stockings

Philip Morris is to sell a new cigarette just for the festive holidays. Branded as ‘M’ the company is touting it with the slogan “A Special Blend for a Special Season.” To promote the cigarette Philip Morris is decking out convenience stores in red and green paisley shade reminiscent of wrapping paper.

The company says it will sell the cigarettes till the end of the year and says the motivation behind the launch of a new brand is to lure consumers away from other brands. A spokesman added to that by saying “It is intended really to create some excitement in the market place.

But anti-tobacco activists are not best pleased. Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids said that Philip Morris was selling cancer for Christmas.

Mr Myers has indicated that his organisation intends to call on Philip Morris to withdraw the product and is considering placing ads in the press attacking the company’s new marketing campaign. He quipped, “M is for Murder.”

But industry analysts believe that tobacco companies are worried that smokers, especially in recessionary times could start trading down to a growing number of low-price competitors. Philip Morris is not the only company to have stretched it’s premium flagship brands – RJ Reynolds have launched a menthol version of it Camel brand under the name of Turkish Jade as well as an updated Winston as S2.

Bonnie Herzog, a tobacco analyst for Credit Suisse First Boston speculates that the marketing of M as a Christmas seasonal one-off promotion to be merely a market test for a new brand. She points out that the packaging for M is more hip than festive and adds Philip Morris is likely to extend the promotion of the brand beyond the end of the year.

Source: Wall Street Journal Europe, 5 December 2001



Rothmans declines to lift Santa Fe bid

In a bidding war in the US for Sante Fe, a Mexican cigarette manufacturer, Rothmans handed RJ Reynolds victory by refusing to raise it bid. RJR raised its bid last Monday to $340 million in cash from $320 million. Even though Rothmans lost in the bid it expects to receive $11million termination fee if the RJR bid prevails.

Source: International Herald Tribune, 5 December 2001



Incognito PM aka Altria examined

The discussion on the name change may be going cold, but an article in Fortune ponders the etymology of Altria.

Philip Morris would like us to believe that the work derives from the Latin ‘altus’ meaning ‘high’ which is more representative of their image.

Latin scholars, however, say it doesn’t mean anything at all. “Altria isn’t a Latin word,” says Andrew Feldherr, an assistant professor in the classics department at Princeton University. “It isn’t derived from anything. They made it up. ‘Altus’ does come to mind, but then so does the Latin word ‘Altrix’, which means ‘wet nurse’.”

Whatever it means, the name Altria would not appear on actual Philip Morris Cos. products . The firm’s major divisions – Kraft, Miller and even Philip Morris will retain their separate identities; only the umbrella company and its stock will carry the new name.

Source: Fortune, 17 December 2001



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