AD WATCH
Is "YouTube" telling or selling you something? Tobacco content on the YouTube video-sharing website
The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Ms B Freeman
The University of Sydney, Sydney 2006, NSW, Australia; bfreeman@health.usyd.edu.au
Received 3 January 2007
Accepted 1 March 2007
Abbreviations: WOMMA, The Word of Mouth Marketing Association; WWW, world wide web
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
With advertising bans eroding direct tobacco advertising and promotional opportunities, tobacco companies are embracing more covert means of keeping their products in the minds of current and potential consumers. Compared with the breadth of published research on "above-the-line" tobacco advertising, research examining "below-the-line"1 indirect forms of tobacco promotion is in its infancy. Promotions at dance parties,2 themed nights in hip clubs,3 bars and music festivals,4 and disguising market research as sampling promotions5 are examples of identified strategies. Just as tobacco company marketers have infiltrated youth-friendly venues, it is conceivable that they also have a presence on youth-friendly websites. While the world wide web (WWW) is being used extensively to sell cigarettes,6 its largely unregulated status holds much potential as a vehicle for both promoting smoking and particular brands of tobacco products, and for promoting antismoking discourse.
The WWW is no longer a vehicle to simply retrieve information and purchase goods,
This article has been cited by other articles:
-
Klesges, R. C., Sherrill-Mittleman, D. A., DeBon, M., Talcott, G. W., Vanecek, R. J.
(2009). Do we believe the tobacco industry lied to us? Association with smoking behavior in a military population. Health Educ Res
24: 909-921
[Abstract] [Full Text] -
Jenssen, B. P., Klein, J. D., Salazar, L. F., Daluga, N. A., DiClemente, R. J.
(2009). Exposure to Tobacco on the Internet: Content Analysis of Adolescents' Internet Use. Pediatrics
124: e180-e186
[Abstract] [Full Text] -
Hossler, E. W., Conroy, M. P.
(2008). YouTube as a Source of Information on Tanning Bed Use. Arch Dermatol
144: 1395-1396
[Full Text] -
Freeman, B, Chapman, S
(2008). Gone viral? Heard the buzz? A guide for public health practitioners and researchers on how Web 2.0 can subvert advertising restrictions and spread health information. J. Epidemiol. Community Health
62: 778-782
[Abstract] [Full Text] -
Anderson, S J, Ling, P M
(2008). "And they told two friends...and so on": RJ Reynolds' viral marketing of Eclipse and its potential to mislead the public. Tobacco Control
17: 222-229
[Abstract] [Full Text]
eLetters:
Read all eLetters
- YouTube clip on buzz, viral and stealth marketing
- Simon Chapman
- Tobacco Control Online, 18 Nov 2007 [Full text]
Register for free content
The full back archive is now available for all BMJ Journals. Institutional subscribers may access the entire archive as part of their subscription. Personal subscribers will also have access to all content when logged in. Non-subscribers who register have free access to all articles published before 2006 right back to volume 1 issue 1. Register here to access the free archive of all BMJ Journals.
Don't forget to sign up for content alerts so you keep up to date with all the articles as they are published.
