I was talking with someone on the weekend and they were of the view that marketing is pretty ineffective in stopping people from smoking.
His thinking was that despite all of the anti-smoking marketing, people still take up smoking. The largest increases are in the number of girls/young women taking up cigarette smoking.
And when you think about it, there is tons of anti-smoking marketing and absolutely minimal smoking advertising. And most of us are well aware of the dangers of smoking.
So why doesn’t the marketing work?
The Marketing Doesn’t Work Because It’s Not Strong Enough
That’s right, the anti-smoking marketing doesn’t work because it’s not strong enough to beat the pro-smoking marketing.
Why People Take Up Smoking
1. Because marketing works. The marketing that gets people smoking is peer group pressure (a kind of word of mouth). As anyone who has ever been a kid knows, this is an incredibly powerful pressure.
2. Family influences – the child sees a parent smoking and emulates them. (Some say this is a genetic thing caused by the “Stupid Gene”.)
Marketing works. And marketing isn’t just a newspaper ad. Marketing can be a whole range of influences.
Cheers
A reason that the marketing doesn’t work is that it’s too strong or just plain stupis. Smokers see the anti-smoking ad and it just angers them or just makes them want to smoke.
maybe girls are smoking because it acctually turns guys on? I know if see a girl smoking I’m more likely to hit on her.
Do you really believe that the increase in girls smoking is becauuse of marketing/advertisements?? What absolute nonsense. Girls start to smoke because it looks sexy, pure and simple. If it was discovered that wearing make up had possible long term negative impacts on health, do you think thy would all stop wearing make? Of course not. Smoking is exactly the same, it adds to the allure of a woman. The only thing that will prevent girls from taking up smoking is when, or should I say if, they see that smoking is akin to having a wart or two on the end of their noses, and they discover that no one fancies them.
Very well said.
smoking is a social revolution.