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

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Erratum Submit a response Read responses to this article 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 Anderson, S J Articles by Ling, P M Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Anderson, S J Articles by Ling, P M Related Collections Advertising and Marketing

Emotions for sale: cigarette advertising and women’s psychosocial needs

Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA

Correspondence to:
Pamela M Ling MD MPH
,Box 0320, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143-0320, USA; pling{at}medicine.ucsf.edu

Objective: To explore messages of psychosocial needs satisfaction in cigarette advertising targeting women and implications for tobacco control policy.

Methods: Analysis of internal tobacco industry documents and public advertising collections.

Results: Tobacco industry market research attempted to identify the psychosocial needs of different groups of women, and cigarette advertising campaigns for brands that women smoke explicitly aimed to position cigarettes as capable of satisfying these needs. Such positioning can be accomplished with advertising that downplays or excludes smoking imagery. As women’s needs change with age and over time, advertisements were developed to reflect the needs encountered at different stages in women’s lives. Cigarette brands for younger women stressed female camaraderie, self confidence, freedom, and independence; cigarette brands for older women addressed needs for pleasure, relaxation, social acceptability, and escape from daily stresses.

Conclusions: Psychosocial needs satisfaction can be communicated without reference to cigarettes or smoking. This may explain why partial advertising bans are ineffective and comprehensive bans on all forms of tobacco marketing are effective. Counter-advertising should attempt to expose and undermine the needs satisfaction messages of cigarette advertising campaigns directed at women.

Keywords: advertising; women; psychosocial needs; policy

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. Koenigs and D. Tranel Prefrontal cortex damage abolishes brand-cued changes in cola preference Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci, March 1, 2008; 3(1): 1 - 6. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Huisman, J. Brug, and J. Mackenbach Absinthe is its history relevant for current public health? Int. J. Epidemiol., August 1, 2007; 36(4): 738 - 744. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. J Anderson, P. M Ling, and S. A Glantz Implications of the federal court order banning the terms "light" and "mild": what difference could it make? Tob. Control, August 1, 2007; 16(4): 275 - 279. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P A McDaniel, E A Smith, and R E Malone Philip Morris's Project Sunrise: weakening tobacco control by working with it Tob. Control, June 1, 2006; 15(3): 215 - 223. [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]

				M. Nichter, M. Nichter, E. E. Lloyd-Richardson, B. Flaherty, A. Carkoglu, and N. Taylor Gendered Dimensions of Smoking Among College Students Journal of Adolescent Research, May 1, 2006; 21(3): 215 - 243. [Abstract] [PDF]

eLetters: