Email from Poland: MOCNE's Stefan comic strip
Source: Tele Tydzien, Nr 18, 26 April 1999, Poland
[Graphic: Comic strip panels of a cigarette-smoking Stefan jack-hammering his way through the earth all the way to China]Stefan (Frame #7): What's going on?
Chinese (Frame #8): What's this? It's supposed to be rice.
Chinese (Frame #9): It's stronger than rice! ...
. . . STRONG IN YOUR MOUTH [The MOCNE ("Strong Ones") slogan]
One need not be able to read Polish to understand that the Philip Morris motto, "We don't advertise to children," doesn't translate very well into foreign marketing campaigns. The above ad for the company's best-selling brand in Poland (MOCNE) appeared this week in Tele Tydzien, a TV guide which finds its way into roughly 2 million homes in this country. The brand, MOCNE, which PM acquired in 1996 when it bought the country's biggest production facilities (in and around Krakow), is an old favorite among Poles. Despite PM's efforts to get smokers to opt for its international brands (i.e. the ones with higher profit margins), MOCNE remains the best seller, with around 10% of total market share, compared to Marlboro's 7%.
Clearly the US tobacco giant's relentless pursuit of new smokers in developing countries will continue, despite the historic advertising concessions implemented last week in the States.
Scott Thompson
Health Promotion Foundation, Warsaw
thompsons@coi.waw.pl
28 April 1999
Click here to download the 400k Comic strip graphic
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