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Produced by the Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company (SFNTC), Natural American Spirit cigarettes were introduced in 1982. RJ Reynolds acquired SFNTC in 2002 and SFNTC became parent-owned by Reynolds American Incorporated (RAI). Advertising for Natural American Spirit cigarettes has commonly presented the brand as ‘different’ (figure 1). From a marketing strategy standpoint, David Aaker has emphasised the pragmatic importance of differentiation:
If a brand fails to develop or maintain differentiation, consumers have no basis for choosing it over others. The product’s price will then be the determining factor in a decision to purchase. Absent differentiation, the core of any brand and its associated business—a loyal customer base—cannot be created or sustained.1
This Natural American Spirit cigarette ad circulated in the 22–29 October 2018 edition of Sports Illustrated. Ad copy states: ‘We believe in doing things differently. That’s why everything we do is different. From the way our tobacco is grown to the way we craft our blends. Tobacco Ingredients: Tobacco & Water.’
The concept of differentiation is fundamental to positioning, which is ‘the act of designing the company’s offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in the mind of the target market. The goal is to locate the brand in the minds of consumers to maximize the potential benefit to the firm.’2 Strategically, companies identify optimal points of difference—also known as unique selling points or propositions—which are ‘attributes or benefits consumers strongly associate with a brand, positively evaluate and believe that they could not find to the same extent with a competitive brand.’2
According to RAI’s 10-K filings, which are annual reports that comprehensively summarise a company’s financial performance and mandated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, ‘Santa Fe’s cigarette brand, Natural American Spirit, is a super-premium brand priced at a higher premium compared with most other competitive brands, and is differentiated from key competitors through its use of all natural, additive-free tobacco.’3 Evidently, the key points of product differentiation marketed by SFNTC for Natural American Spirit have been ‘additive-free’ and entirely ‘natural’ tobacco. Moreover, RAI acknowledges in its 10-K filings that competition in the cigarette category is based primarily on brand positioning.
The Natural American Spirit brand name itself refers to ‘natural,’ and this product attribute is further reinforced by the name of the brand’s producer, Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company. When speaking to the power of a brand name, marketing strategists, Al Ries and Jack Trout, indicate, ‘What you must look for is a name that begins the positioning process, a name that tells the prospect what the product’s major benefit is.’4 Being central to both the brand name and that of its producer, ‘natural’ is the principal dimension of marketing communication and is the fundamental differentiating feature of the product offering (figure 2).
Marketing communication for Natural American Spirit cigarettes commonly gives emphasis to the claim of being ‘100% additive-free natural tobacco.’ This marketing communication for the brand circulated in 2012, reflecting advertising that appeared at the point-of-sale. Source: Stanford Ad Collection, available at http://tobacco.stanford.edu/tobacco_web/images/tobacco_ads/modern_strategies/americanspirit/large/american_101.jpg
In addition to ‘natural’ and ‘additive-free,’ ‘organic’ has become commonly emphasised as a product point of difference. As seen in figure 3, print advertising for Natural American Spirit cigarettes boldly presents the brand as ‘THE ONLY ONE MADE WITH 100% ORGANIC TOBACCO.’ Ad copy also states: ‘From the company that brought you 100% additive-free natural tobacco cigarettes: Cigarettes made with 100% organic tobacco. Natural American Spirit offers the only cigarettes made with premium quality, 100% certified organic tobacco.’
This Natural American Spirit cigarette ad circulated in the May 2009 edition of Esquire. While both featured brand variants are identified as ‘Made with 100% Organic Tobacco,’ the predominantly yellow-coloured package states that the variant offers ‘Light Mellow Taste.’ The promotional offer of US$20 in gift certificates appears analogous to providing free samples of the product. Additionally, the claim of ‘Pass It On’—on tear-away cards—encourages consumers to engage in word-of-mouth and to tell their peers about the promotional offer.
The strategic positioning of Natural American Spirit has evolved to increasingly include ‘organic’ as a key point of differentiation. Two important factors in the company’s marketing environment—regulatory influences as well as competition—have apparently prompted such an evolving and enriched differentiation. First, in 2017, SFNTC and the US Food and Drug Administration reached an agreement that the claims, ‘additive free’ and ‘natural,’ would be removed from the marketing communication of Natural American Spirit.5 Still, the statement ‘Tobacco Ingredients: Tobacco and Water,’ which appears synonymous with ‘additive free,’ remained allowable and ‘natural’ could remain in use for expression of the brand or trademark name. Consequently, in the USA, a before-and-after approach is observable for ads and claims made in accordance with the 2017 agreement. A second factor influencing SFNTC’s strategic decision-making is that ‘natural’ appears imitable by competitors. Acquired by Altria, the Nat Sherman cigarette brand, for example, represents a direct competitor of Natural American Spirit. As seen in figure 4, the Nat Sherman brand is identified as ‘Nat’s’—representing the first three letters of natural—with the ad copy stating, ‘Tobacco Ingredients: Tobacco and Water.’ This claim, which has been found to erroneously convey reduced harm, is identical to what is seen in figure 1 for Natural American Spirit advertising.6 Indication that tobacco ingredients are tobacco and water is analogous to claims that fish is 100% fish,7 which overlooks the ingredients contained therein. Tuna, for example, contains sodium, cobalamin, iron and magnesium, whereas tobacco naturally includes nicotine and often toxic chemicals such as lead and cadmium from the soil in which it grows.8
This Nat Sherman cigarette ad circulated in the April 2018 edition of Car and Driver. Ad copy includes the claims ‘Tobacco. Water. Simply Nat’s’ and ‘For three generations, we’ve only taken fine tobacco and added water.’
Given the demonstrated success of Natural American Spirit, strategic attempts are being made by competitors, such as Altria, to offer cigarette brands that imitate or duplicate what Natural American Spirit offers,9 adopting what has been termed a ‘me-too positioning.’10 Consequently, Natural American Spirit’s differentiation has evolved to disproportionately highlight their organic tobacco (figure 5). Print advertising from late 2020 and early 2021, for Natural American Spirit cigarettes, boldly claims ‘Made Different’ and ‘Made with Organic Tobacco.’
This Natural American Spirit cigarette ad circulated in the November 2020 edition of Rolling Stone as well as the December 2020/January 2021 edition of GQ. The ad copy states ‘Discover a blend crafted with US grown whole-leaf tobacco and water. It’s a difference you can taste.’ The availability of gift certificates from a branded website is highlighted and two variants—a turquoise package with supposed ‘full-bodied taste’ and a gold package with supposed ‘mellow taste’—are featured.
Subsequent 10-K filings of RAI additionally mention ‘organic’ when pointing to the differentiation of Natural American Spirit by stating that the brand ‘is differentiated from key competitors through its use of all natural, additive-free tobacco, including styles made with organic tobacco.’11 The evolving strategic differentiation of Natural American Spirit, which includes its organic product line, ensures that competitors are more challenged to imitate the marketing claims and engage in a me-too positioning (given that claims of ‘organic’ are legally defined and require a more rigorous process for certification, unlike claims pertaining to ‘natural’).12 Nevertheless, more widespread use of marketing claims pertaining to ‘additive-free,’ ‘natural’ and ‘organic’ tobacco is concerning from a public health and tobacco control perspective. Like the marketing of so-called ‘light’ cigarettes,13 14 consumers demonstrate erroneous health-related and harm-reduced beliefs because of ‘additive-free,’ ‘natural’ and ‘organic’ brand descriptors.15–25 Meanwhile, disclaimers that attempt to correct such erroneous beliefs have proven ineffective,20 25 which is consistent with the effects generally observed for mandatory disclaimers in advertising.26 In jurisdictions, including the USA, where cigarette product descriptors such as ‘light’ and ‘mild’ are deemed misleading and deceptive, thus no longer permissible, deliberation should be given to expanding the scope of prohibited cigarette product descriptors.
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Contributors TD was the sole contributor to the writing and analysis of the study.
Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Competing interests TD is an Associate Editor of Tobacco Control with respect to Product Marketing and Promotion. He has also served as an expert witness in tobacco litigation for plaintiff counsel in class action lawsuits—including a case involving Natural American Spirit—as well as for governments whose policies regarding the marketing and promotion of tobacco products were challenged on constitutional grounds.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.