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Meanwhile, Winfield's European forays have spread to France, with a summer advertising launch that included Winfield folding chairs appearing in typical summer holiday locations, such as cafés. In an apparent attempt to teach the French the new brand name, the word Winfield appeared with some of its letters missing. But maybe Rothmans made a rather elementary mistake, ignoring industry research findings and pitching the challenge too high for the abilities of its target audience? It may have forgotten work in the USA by Brown and Williamson cigarette advertisers Ted Bates, which employed 18 focus group interviews on the subject of smoking in 1975. A report prepared for Bates by market research firm Marketing and Research Counsellors Inc of New York commented on the rationalisation which many smokers practice to justify continued smoking when they know how dangerous it is. Smokers, said the report, “have to face the fact that they are illogical, irrational and stupid”. Stupid? Win . . ..d? Maybe French smokers just won't get it.