Tobacco.org

Gracious living and the tattoo  

In a nicely ironic twist, the self-branding once associated with criminals has been hijacked by big brands. Previously capable of selling nothing save Harley-Davidsons, tattoos have been co-opted by everyone from R.J. Reynolds Tobacco to Steuben Glass. Last year, Camel Wide cigarettes replicated vintage watercolour tattoos in its print ads and packaging. Dodge marketed its Caliber SE to 20- to 30-year-old males as a bad-boy vehicle in print ads showing the car receiving a tattoo. "Companies think it's a way to connect with that 18- to 35-year-old demographic everyone is after," says Campbell, . . .

A documentary about the life of Norman Collins will make the film festival circuit this year, says Steven Grasse, the CEO of Philadelphia-based Gyro Advertising, which co-owns the Sailor Jerry brand and produced the Camel Wide campaign.

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