Tobacco Product Placement and Young People

Abstract

Tobacco companies have responded to restrictions on their promotions by exploiting loopholes in the legislation that governs their activities. Many popular movies now provide vehicles for tobacco product placement, a move that has led health researchers to explore the effects of these promotions. Recent studies have concluded that product placement can both stimulate and reinforce smoking behaviour, and the study reported here found non-smokers and smokers alike responded positively to images of smoking. Given that movies typically depict smoking as a desirable behaviour and rarely show its longer-term health consequences, these images may promote smoking more effectively than the banned advertising and sponsorship vehicles did. We conclude by calling for further research to examine the extent to which tobacco product placement may undermine health promotions.

Full text

Tobacco Product Placement and Young People
Janet Hoek, Philip Gendall and Aimee Patton, Massey University
Abstract
Tobacco companies have responded to restrictions on their promotions by exploiting
loopholes in the legislation that governs their activities. Many popular movies now provide
vehicles for tobacco product placement, a move that has led health researchers to explore the
effects of these promotions. Recent studies have concluded that product placement can both
stimulate and reinforce smoking behaviour, and the study reported here found non-smokers
and smokers alike responded positively to images of smoking. Given that movies typically
depict smoking as a desirable behaviour and rarely show its longer-term health consequences,
these images may promote smoking more effectively than the banned advertising and
sponsorship vehicles did. We conclude by calling for further research to examine the extent
to which tobacco product placement may undermine health promotions.
Introduction
Western governments around the world have introduced a variety of regulations designed to
reduce the incidence of smoking (Roemer 1993; Sparks 1997). These regulations have
included banning broadcast and print advertising, prohibiting sponsorship, increasing the
taxes levied on tobacco, and restricting the age at which consumers can legally purchase
tobacco products.
However, despite these moves, the incidence of smoking in New Zealand, among other
countries, has not declined dramatically and, in some demographics, the proportion of
smokers actually increased (Cornwell 1997; Feighery, Borzekowski, Schooler and Flora,
1998; Scragg and Laugesen 2001). In particular, the incidence of tobacco consumption
among young women had shown steady increases until very recently (Scragg and Laugesen,
2001). One possible reason for these increases is the tobacco companies’ development of
other promotion opportunities (Guthrie 1995; Altman, Levine, Coeytaux, Slade and Jaffe
1996; Cornwell 1997; Lavack 1997). Among other things, tobacco manufacturers have
established shell companies, such as apparel or accessory companies, so that they can feature
their brand names on items that appeal to young people. In addition, they have developed
websites that target young people and that pair youth interests with their brands (Lavack
1997).
One of the most ubiquitous initiatives has been the increasing use of product placement in
television programmes and movies. Defined as paid product messages aimed at influencing
movie audiences via the planned and unobtrusive entry of a branded product into a movie,
product placements represent a subtle means of normalising an unhealthy behaviour (Gupta
and Lord 1998).
Tobacco companies have used product placement to link their brands with actors viewed by
young people as role models (Lavack 1997; MacFadyen, Hastings, and MacKintosh, 2001).
For example, the Brown & Williamson website contains reference to contracts with actors
such as Sylvester Stallone (Brown & Williamson, 1983). Moreover, the evolution of cinema
as a predominantly youth medium suggests this vehicle offers considerable potential to reach
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young people (Pechmann and Shih 1999). As tobacco executives have noted, product
placement could be even more successful than advertising and sponsorship, since it has no
overtly commercial connotations (Mekemson and Glantz, 2002). From tobacco companies’
perspective, product placement enables them to portray smoking as a natural behaviour,
engaged in by people representing youth values. Such is the popularity of product placement
that Gibson and Maurer (2000) noted cigarette usage in movies was three times more
prevalent than in the population at large (p. 1458).
At present, little is known about the effects tobacco product placement has on young people.
The mere fact that the tobacco companies have made increasing use of this strategy suggests
it maintains the salience of their brands among young people who represent the next
generation of smokers. However, before governments can decide whether to regulate this
form of promotion, more detailed empirical evidence of its effects is required. In this paper,
we first outline the development of tobacco product placement before reporting on a pilot
study that examined adolescents’ reactions to smoking images in a movie.
Development and Effects of Tobacco Product Placement
Product placement has appealed to many marketers, especially those disillusioned with
growing advertisement avoidance, fragmenting television audiences, and increased
commercial clutter. Product placements represent a means of creating brand awareness and
indirect celebrity endorsement of that brand. Recent research has also concluded that product
placement can enhance recall, recognition and even brand choice (Braun and Law, 2000;
MacFadyen, Hastings, and MacKintosh, 2001).
Although researchers explain its effects in terms of cognitive variables, product placement
seems most logically explained using behaviour modification theory. Classical conditioning
involves pairing a neutral and unconditioned stimulus until consumers associate the two
objects. In the case of tobacco product placement, cigarettes are paired with an actor and,
through consistent association with that actor, take on the attributes of the actor or the role
she or he plays. Thus cigarette smoking may assume connotations of beauty, popularity,
strength, sporting prowess, and so on, simply by being consistently associated with actors or
characters that embody those attributes (McIntosh, Bazzini and Smith, 1998; Distefan,
Gilpin, Sargent and Pierce 1999; Hines, Saris and Throckmorton-Belzer, 2000; Tickle,
Sargent, Dalton, Beach and Heatherton, 2001).
In addition, product placement may also work through operant conditioning, by reinforcing
smokers’ behaviour. That is, images of role models who smoke and who are attractive,
popular and desirable may suggest that persevering with a smoking habit will eventually
bring the same rewards. This latter effect could be particularly worrying if it assisted newly
initiated smokers to overcome their initial distaste of smoking and develop an addiction.
Research into the effect tobacco product placement has on young people’s behaviour has
produced varied results. Hines et al (2000) reported that male smokers who viewed smoking
scenes displayed an increased desire to smoke, although they did not observe the same effect
among female respondents. Hines et al also noted that respondents viewed an average of
seven films each month, around half of whose main characters smoked. They thus concluded
that young people regularly saw attractive characters smoking and suggested that even a
modest effect from each exposure could have a considerable longer-term influence.
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Distefan et al (1999) found that smokers and non-smokers differed significantly in their
choice of movie stars: smokers preferred actors who smoked on and off-screen whereas non-
smokers did not. Tickle et al (2001) reported similar findings. Their study suggested that a
high proportion (63%) of the actors examined smoked at least once and over a third (42%)
portrayed smoking as an essential character trait in one or more films. They developed a
smoking index and concluded that adolescents whose favourite actors smoked were typically
higher on the smoking index. Furthermore, their score increased as the number of actors who
both smoked and were identified as preferred also increased. This relationship was
independent of other factors known to predict adolescent smoking, such as smoking
behaviour by family and peer groups. Ultimately, Tickle et al concluded that “ a clear
relation [exists] between on screen tobacco use by movie stars and higher levels of smoking
susceptibility in the adolescents who admire them” (p. 20).
Little work examining the effects of tobacco product placement has been conducted outside
the US; given New Zealand’s rigorous tobacco legislation, it is timely to explore how New
Zealand youth respond to images of smoking in movies. The pilot study reported here
therefore addressed the following research questions:
• Did smokers and non-smokers differ in their reactions to tobacco product placement?
• Were gender differences apparent in young people’s reactions to tobacco product
placement?
Method
The data were collected via a series of in-class surveys in a New Zealand city. Respondents
from Year 7-9 classes (ages 11-13) viewed an extract from the movie Grease and answered a
structured questionnaire before participating in a semi-structured discussion. The survey
sample comprised 268 adolescents, aged 11-14, who belonged to classes selected at random
by the school principal. This age group was specifically chosen because several studies have
suggested that young people who have experimented with smoking either reject the behaviour
or develop a habit during this period (Health Sponsorship Council, 2001).
Interviews were conducted during normal class time at each school. Participants viewed a
seven-minute clip from the movie Grease, which had been edited to include three smoking
scenes. This movie was selected because it had been recently re-released and targeted at this
age group, and because its censor rating (PG – parental guidance) was appropriate for this age
group. Respondents first answered questions about the movie content to ascertain how
familiar they were with the actors and their recall of the clip content. They were then asked
to focus specifically on the smoking scenes and the clip was re-played. Respondents then
completed a second questionnaire that explored their attitudes to the actors and their general
smoking attitudes and behaviour.
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Results
Just under 40% of respondents (38%) had experimented with smoking, although only half of
these now classified themselves as current smokers, and only 12% had smoked in the last
month. More females (19%) classified themselves as current smokers than did males (12%).
These figures are consistent with Health Sponsorship Council and Cancer Society research
and confirm that the sample was representative of New Zealand adolescents in this age group
(HSC, 2001).
Our research questions explored respondents’ views of the images of smoking shown and
how this varied by their smoking behaviour and gender. Table 1 contains these results.
Table 1: Attitudes Towards Smoking Images by Gender and Smoking Status
Gender
Characteristic
Female
(n=159)
Male
(n=103)
Current
Smokers
(n=30)
%
Non-
Smokers
(n=129)
%
Current
Smokers
(n=12)
%
Non-
Smoker
(n=91)
%
Made people more popular 79 80 75 81
Comfortable around friends 68 63 67 72
Helped people to relax 56 54 68 55
Something to do when bored 70 57 50 45
Looked enjoyable 38 46 67 57
Helped people reduce stress 56 37 33 52
Helped people stay thin 11 7 --- 15
If tobacco product placement had a reinforcing effect, we would expect smokers to display
more positive attitudes than non-smokers. While smokers were more likely to link the
images to relief from boredom, the observed differences were generally small and not always
in the expected direction. Overall, the differences between smokers and non-smokers did not
consistently fit the expected pattern. However, the strong positive associations revealed are
consistent with the view that role models can normalise an unhealthy and anti-social
behaviour among both smokers and non-smokers. Unlike Tickle et al, this study did not test
whether non-smokers would be more likely to experiment with smoking, having seen these
images. However, further research needs to examine whether the positive depiction of
smoking could over-ride health promotions pointing out the dangers of smoking. If tobacco
product placement reduced the perceived credibility of barriers that might otherwise inhibit
smoking, public policy makers would have a stronger case for imposing restrictions.
Respondents’ impressions of the lead actor and actress’ appearance while smoking also did
not differ by their smoking status, although a higher proportion of smokers thought the actor
was popular, cool, appeared older and looked “in shape”.
As Table 1 reveals, some gender effects were evident, although the small sample sizes mean
these do not reach accepted levels of statistical significance. For example, more male
smokers associated the images of smoking with relaxation than did female smokers. A
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higher proportion of female smokers associated smoking with providing a purpose when they
were bored and stress reduction than did any of the other groups. By contrast, more males
than females thought the images made smoking appear enjoyable.
These findings suggest that males and females did differ in their reaction to some variables,
although their reaction appeared to be mediated by their smoking behaviour. The table
suggests that although a higher proportion of young females smoke, they do not necessarily
always make more positive connections with smoking images. Overall, the key finding from
this table is that respondents generally associated very positive characteristics with the
characters that smoked. Perhaps of greatest concern to health promoters is the fact that
around two thirds of those interviewed indicated that smoking appeared to have social
benefits. This suggests that smokefree messages promoting smoking as anti-social could be
countered, at least to some extent, by the images portrayed in movies.
Conclusions and Public Policy Implications
Tobacco product placement has evolved in response to regulations prohibiting tobacco
advertising and sponsorship. However, health researchers have raised concerns that this
subtle form of promotion may be even more effective than overtly commercial messages.
The research conducted to date suggests that tobacco product placement makes smoking
appear glamorous, and smokers themselves are perceived as attractive and popular.
This study confirmed earlier work suggesting that young people associate positive attributes
with tobacco when shown images of role models smoking. Respondents’ answers did not
differ significantly according to their own smoking status, suggesting that the images may not
simply reinforce existing users. The strong positive associations with smoking indicate that
tobacco product placement may override messages contained in health promotions, a question
that should be explored in future research. Furthermore, because young people look to their
own role models as they mature, images of smoking associated with these models may be
more powerful influences than these results suggest.
From a public policy perspective, these results add to the growing body of work concluding
that images of smoking in movies are not innocuous. The documented effects of tobacco
product placement require replication to assess its alleged pre-disposing effects. However,
the health consequences of smoking arguably provide strong grounds for swift regulatory
action.
Such action could be taken under international agreements, such as the WHO convention, or
by extension of existing bans on sponsorship contained in tobacco-control legislation. More
stringent regulation would clarify the status of health messages and reduce the conflict
between these and the images of smoking presented in popular movies. Until further
restrictions are enacted, movies will, as Mekemson and Glantz (2002, in press) argue, “…
remain one of the most powerful forces in the world promoting and serving the tobacco
industry’s financial interests.”
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