ASH, 102 Clifton Street, LONDON, EC2A 4HW.
Tel 020 7739 5902 Fax 020 7613 0531

ASH Daily News
6 December 2002


HEADLINES

McCabe ruling overturned
Gallaher’s farewell campaign to advertising
Ex-BAT behind buttock-shaped BUTTsOUT ash-tray


Full Text


McCabe ruling overturned

A landmark court ruling that ordered a tobacco giant to pay thousands to an
Australian cancer victim has been overturned by an appeals court.

The Court of Appeal sitting in Melbourne today said British American Tobacco
(BAT) had succeeded on all the issues argued in its appeal against the
pay-out.

The court overturned a judgment in Mrs McCabe's favour made by the Victorian
Supreme Court and ordered a retrial.

Rolah McCabe, who started smoking when she was 12, had been awarded $700,000
damages by the Supreme Court.

She died from lung cancer in October.

The full judgement:
<http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/vic/VSCA/2002/197.html>



Gallaher’s farewell campaign to advertising

A British law banning newspaper, magazine and billboard ads for tobacco goes
into effect Feb. 14. In anticipation, the U.K.'s Gallaher Group PLC, which
markets the Hamlet brand world-wide and Silk Cut and Benson & Hedges in
certain countries, is working on a series of print and poster ads bidding a
fond adieu to its advertising glory days.

"We want to celebrate the history of the great advertising we've done," says
spokeswoman Michelle McKeown, citing the legacy of the company's
award-winning campaigns.

One slogan under consideration for Silk Cut: "It's not over 'til the fat
lady sings" for a possible campaign dubbed "the-fat-lady-sings concept." One
option is to play music at poster sites. Ms. McKeown didn't elaborate on the
plans, other than to say the idea is one of a number of possibilities under
consideration for a farewell campaign that will probably run in January.

Anti-tobacco activists aren't amused. "It's a last-ditch attempt to get
their brands in the public consciousness," says Amanda Sandford, research
manager at Action on Smoking and Health U.K. "This valedictory farewell to
advertising is their way of trying to poke fun at the law. ... Thankfully,
the law is now in place, and we'll see an end to this very soon." Tobacco
ads on TV are already banned in Britain.

Once the ban kicks in, tobacco companies will have to think of new ways to
market themselves. Gallaher says it will focus on continuing to improve its
merchandising-display units to make shelves more flexible for retailers, as
well as on customer research to make sure retailers know which brands most
appeal to their customers. Ms. McKeown says the company is waiting for
clarification from the government as to what type of information it can
promote on display units. "We want to be sure we behave responsibly," she
says.

Source: Wall Street Journal Europe, 6 December 2002



Ex-BAT behind buttock-shaped BUTTsOUT ash-tray

Paul Duxbury, who left a senior marketing position at British American
Tobacco (BAT) in April, has resurfaced as sales and marketing director of
BUTTsOUT, the UK company that is launching a buttock-shaped "portable
ashtray", to encourage the country's 12 million smokers to clean up their
own cigarette butts.

At BAT, Duxbury was in charge of marketing brands such as Roth- mans,
Cartier and Vogue.

He says the ashtrays, which clip on to belts, are made ofhigh-impact
fire-resistant moulded plastic and cost about £2. Rather than drop cig-
arette butts on the ground, smokers are encouraged to put them in their
BUTTsOUT ashtrays for later disposal in waste bins.

When the concept was launched in Australia a year ago, it was supported by a
range of government agencies, health groups and private companies. More than
100,000 ash trays many sporting corporate or brand logos -have been
distributed through local anti-litter campaigns, including one to clean up
the world famous Bondi Beach.

A test campaign is already under way with Colchester United Football Club.

Source: Marketing Week, 5 December 2002


----------------------------------
Unsubscribe:

Public subscribers: http://www.ash.org.uk/html/about/subscribe.php
<http://www.ash.org.uk/html/about/subscribe.php>

Globalink members: <http://member.globalink.org>
----------------------------------


Naj Dehlavi
Action on Smoking and Health
102 Clifton Street
London EC2A 4HW
http://www.ash.org.uk