To Beat the Ban

On the nation's TV screens last week, the Marlboro man made his last stand. So did the hole-in-the-shoe fellow who would walk a mile for a Camel, and the snooty adventurer who incredibly prefers a Silva Thin to a maiden plump. Forbidden by Congress to promote their cigarettes on television and radio after Jan. 1, tobacco companies clogged the airways with a surfeit of last-minute plugs, especially during the New Year's Day bowl games.

The ban took cigarette commercials out of television, but it did not take television out of the plans of cigarette makers. Some will get their names before the public by underwriting televised sports events named after their products. Cigarette brand names will be frequently mentioned and seen on screen. Liggett & Myers, for example, plans to back 14 televised auto races around the country, putting up $400,000 in purse money; the company is even entering its own car, the L & M Lola.

R.J. Reynolds will pick up the tab for an $80,000 bowling tournament, named, appropriately enough, the Winston-Salem Classic. Reynolds will also put up $100,000 in awards for the top drivers on the Grand National Racing Tour and sponsor a Winston 500 stock-car race in Alabama. Philip Morris is bankrolling a series of 13 U.S. Auto Club races, many of which will be on ABC's Wide World of Sports. The company also will provide $100,000 in prizes for a women's tennis tournament, the "Virginia Slims Women's Invitational." In the sliest move of all, American Brands is considering television promotion of ban-exempt pipe tobacco under such famous cigarette names as Pall Mall, Tareyton and Silva Thins; even the packs will be cigarette size.

Shorter Spots. The abrupt loss of $250 million in cigarette promotions has incited a bare-knuckled fight among broadcasters for new advertisers. CBS has begun selling separate 30-second spots, the first network to offer segments of less than a minute. ABC, which is more dependent on cigarette money than its rivals, has been particularly active in searching for replacements.

Even so, all the networks will be covering some bald spots with free public-service ads. Among these, ironically, will be the American Cancer Society's anti-smoking commercials, which many stations plan to continue on a limited scale. Tobaccomen will spend more of their ad dollars in the print media, but in return, some companies want special treatment. American Brands is reportedly pressing to have its newspaper ads placed near the well-read TV listings.

Ultimate Trip. The manufacturers will channel much of their TV savings into other promotions to hook customers. Lorillard Corp., the maker of Kent and Old Gold, plans an extensive direct-mail program. Lists of known smokers will be sifted by computer, and cigarettes will be speeded to them along with other product samples by United Parcel Service. Other companies have already begun mass samplings through the mail. Some firms are giving away free samples on the streets, at sporting events and wherever crowds gather. Reynolds has started the Salem Sweepstakes to attract new customers. Participants send contest forms and two Salem packages to the company, which draws the names of the winners. First prize: five two-week vacations for two anywhere in the world, plus $1,000 spending money for each trip.

For the ultimate trip, tobaccomen are also discussing the potentially heady market for marijuana, and some figure that it could be legalized within five years. At least one of the very biggest cigarette makers is rumored to be experimenting with pot cigarettes in Puerto Rico. According to some cigarette marketers, packs would contain four cigarettes and sell for $1.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.