Blow off smoke and be counted
I think we all remember when the multi-million dollar Alliance of Australian Retailers’ campaign against plain packaging failed to gain traction last year (..it seems some small detail about the ‘alliance’ being set up and funded by the world’s top three cigarette manufacturers tainted the credibility of the messaging).
Anyway, minor embarrassments clearly don’t faze the filthy rich – nor does it hinder them from empathising with the plight of the little man.
This week Philip Morris has again taken up the mantle of noble revolution, this time championing the cause of battered smokers everywhere. Are you fed up with being shamelessly victimised by the government? Head to www.ideservetobeheard.com and whinge about it!
There are so many things that are silly about this campaign but I’ll start with the positives.
I must say that sneaking little notes into cigarette packaging inciting anti-establishment sentiments is pure genius. The underground rumbles read: “Bans on outdoor smoking, increased taxes, cigarettes not on display and now plain packaging for cigarettes — what’s next? It’s time to tell the government that you have had enough.” If nothing else then, these secret messages should put a smile on the faces of their customers.
Ok, I love it because everyone loves to get little secret notes. It plays to the counter-cultural tribalism assumed to define the typical smoker’s mindset (albeit too obviously to make this point effective). It’s so darned peppy. And of course it bypasses the tobacco advertising bans (no small feat).
I immediately rushed to the site eager to find a vibrant live chat room with smokers fuming (sorry, couldn’t resist) about the evils of Orwellian nanny-statisms, finger pointing at other worthier government targets and supporting each other in their determination to battle the giants of suppression.
I wasn’t disappointed. There are already a handful of rants posted with all the venom of a cornered cat. But this is where it starts to go downhill. Perhaps it was the lame appearance of the site itself. For all the millions they threw at the retailer cause, it looks like they went bargain basement on this site. That’s one flaw but a totally subjective one of course. Flat site. Judge for yourselves.
But as I was reading through the comments, an overwhelming boredom swept over me. No one was saying anything interesting or original, never mind anything politically valid. There was nothing but a chorus of sulky laments about unfairness and personal choice.
Here’s maybe a lesson in crowdsourcing your comms messaging, you’d want to be pretty sure the result will shine a favourable light on your cause or your customers, no? Instead it has provided a platform which exposes the issues as paltry, questions the soundness of some minds (“I am an addict and it is my PERSONAL choice” .. too funny) and even presents personal experiences from some who have voiced benefits gained from smoking restrictions.
The other flaw is deeper set and this is my musing backed up by a straw poll of one smoker friend so please do let me know if I’m off the mark. Yes, there are probably many smarter, more articulate people out there keen to ‘fight the man’, but surely no borderline intelligent person can ignore the irony in being egged on by a corporate Goliath to go forth and battle the system on its behalf!
I’m a non-smoker after all so completely concede that I may have no true understanding of why someone who is being held hostage to a health degenerating drug sold by multi-billion dollar enterprises should not want incentives to quit.
You would think this would alienate even the most belligerent activists.
Team Morris, sadly I think this is another case of ‘oops my strategy is showing’.
