Jump to full article: The Daily Swarm, 2007-11-25
Author: David Prince
Intro: R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. said today that it has voluntarily halted promotions for a Camel marketing campaign aimed at adult listeners of independent rock music.
The decision comes a day after Reynolds was sued by nine state attorneys general over ads for Camel cigarettes that recently ran in Rolling Stone magazine.
The attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington accused Reynolds of violating the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement between 46 states and tobacco manufacturers because a nine-page pullout in the Nov. 15 issue sponsored by Reynolds contained cartoon images.
Other states are expected to file separate lawsuits. The company could face a fine exceeding $100 million for violating the cartoon ban, according to Tom Corbett, the attorney general for Pennsylvania.
[...]
Howard said that Reynolds sent a letter Tuesday to the tobacco-enforcement committee of the National Association of Attorneys General. The letter said that Reynolds would be willing to halt the Camel “The Farm” marketing. . . .
It all sounds like a lame attempt by corporate behemoths to crash the Pitchfork party, and assign aging and increasingly uncool brands some credibility with “the kids” by naming-checking a bunch of new bands and waving the “indie” slogan around in an embarrassing attempt to be a part of the next generation. With the “Indie Rock Universe”, Camel and Rolling Stone aren’t just co-conspirators, they’re after the same thing.
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