HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS REGISTER		Author Keyword(s) Vol Page [Advanced]

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this link to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Add article to my folders Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Assunta, M Articles by Chapman, S Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Assunta, M Articles by Chapman, S

The tobacco industry’s accounts of refining indirect tobacco advertising in Malaysia

School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

Correspondence to:
Mary Assunta
School of Public Health, Room 129A Edward Ford Building, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006 Australia; marya{at}health.usyd.edu.au

Objective: To explore tobacco industry accounts of its use of indirect tobacco advertising and trademark diversification (TMD) in Malaysia, a nation with a reputation for having an abundance of such advertising.

Methods: Systematic keyword and opportunistic website searches of formerly private tobacco industry internal documents made available through the Master Settlement Agreement.

Results: 132 documents relevant to the topic were reviewed. TMD efforts were created to advertise cigarettes after advertising restrictions on direct advertising were imposed in 1982. To build public credibility the tobacco companies set up small companies and projected them as entities independent of tobacco. Each brand selected an activity or event such as music, travel, fashion, and sports that best suited its image. RJ Reynolds sponsored music events to advertise its Salem brand while Philip Morris used Marlboro World of Sports since advertising restrictions prevented the use of the Marlboro man in broadcast media. Despite a ban on tobacco advertisements in the mass media, tobacco companies were the top advertisers in the country throughout the 1980s and 1990s. The media’s dependence on advertising revenue and support from the ruling elite played a part in delaying efforts to ban indirect advertising.

Conclusion: Advertising is crucial for the tobacco industry. When faced with an advertising ban they created ways to circumvent it, such as TMDs.

Abbreviations: BAT, British American Tobacco; BWIT, Brown & Williamson International Tobacco; CMTM, Confederation of Malaysian Tobacco Manufacturers; ITPMS, International Tobacco Products Marketing Standards; MTC, Malaysian Tobacco Company (BAT’s local subsidiary); MWOS, Marlboro World Of Sports; NSC, National Sports Council; RJR, RJ Reynolds; RTM, Radio Television Malaysia; TMD, trademark diversifications

Keywords: advertising; Malaysia; tobacco industry

This article has been cited by other articles:

				H-H Yong, R Borland, D Hammond, B Sirirassamee, B Ritthiphakdee, R Awang, M Omar, F Kin, Z b. M Zain, W B Lee, et al. Levels and correlates of awareness of tobacco promotional activities among adult smokers in Malaysia and Thailand: findings from the International Tobacco Control Southeast Asia (ITC-SEA) Survey Tob. Control, January 1, 2008; 17(1): 46 - 52. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. MacKenzie, J. Collin, and K. Sriwongcharoen Thailand--lighting up a dark market: British American tobacco, sports sponsorship and the circumvention of legislation J. Epidemiol. Community Health, January 1, 2007; 61(1): 28 - 33. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				N. Hafez and P. M Ling Finding the Kool Mixx: how Brown & Williamson used music marketing to sell cigarettes. Tob. Control, October 1, 2006; 15(5): 359 - 366. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S J Anderson, T Dewhirst, and P M Ling Every document and picture tells a story: using internal corporate document reviews, semiotics, and content analysis to assess tobacco advertising Tob. Control, June 1, 2006; 15(3): 254 - 261. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J Knight and S Chapman "Asian yuppies...are always looking for something new and different": creating a tobacco culture among young Asians Tob. Control, December 1, 2004; 13(suppl_2): ii22 - ii29. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M Assunta and S Chapman Industry sponsored youth smoking prevention programme in Malaysia: a case study in duplicity Tob. Control, December 1, 2004; 13(suppl_2): ii37 - ii42. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M Assunta and S Chapman A mire of highly subjective and ineffective voluntary guidelines: tobacco industry efforts to thwart tobacco control in Malaysia Tob. Control, December 1, 2004; 13(suppl_2): ii43 - ii50. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M Assunta and S Chapman "The world's most hostile environment": how the tobacco industry circumvented Singapore's advertising ban Tob. Control, December 1, 2004; 13(suppl_2): ii51 - ii57. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]