A vintage Benson & Hedge's ad evokes a cheekier (but no less deadly) era of cigarette marketing

Sometimes an ad gets just a little too truthful for its own good.  By the time this 1972 full-pager for Benson & Hedges 100’s ran in Life magazine, smoking was widely understood to be associated with a range of serious diseases. So, sure, let’s equate using our product to jumping out of a plane.  Bought by Philip Morris in 1958, Benson & Hedges is a British brand and still a subsidiary of the American conglomerate Philip Morris International. This ad was part of a larger “favorite cigarette break” campaign that leaned into the fact that Benson & Hedges offered longer cigarettes at the same price point, so people kept accidentally snapping the suckers in two. “Nobody had ever mutilated a cigarette before in American advertising—cigarettes, like automobiles, had always been treated with reverent respect by their manufacturers,” Mad Woman Mary Wells Lawrence wrote in her 2002 memoir “A Big Life (In Advertising).”  “Anything anti-establishment seemed smart in the mid-’60s, so our advertising made Benson & Hedges wildly hip and cool and the cigarette to be seen with.” (Lawrence, the first female CEO listed on the New York Stock Exchange, is still alive at 91. Must not have been a smoker.) But the times? They are a-changin’. Benson & Hedges parent PMI was in the news last week as merger talks between it and Altria Group, another American purveyor of cancer, broke down. Altria itself holds a minority stake in Juul Labs, the embattled e-cigarette maker... Continue reading at 'Advertising Age'

[ Advertising Age | 2019-09-30 09:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #merger talks #minority stake #recent months #memoir

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Nielsen Book: Total book market declined 4% in 2013

The overall book market including print and digital fell by 4% in 2013, according to Nielsen Book... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mobile ad success helps Facebook deliver stunning Q2 results

Facebook has smashed all estimates in its earnings and revenue report this week, largely thanks to its robust mobile ad business. The results slapped down any niggling doubts among critics about the social network's ability to transform itself from a simple communication website to a... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2014-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ad revenue #mobile devices


3 ways agency calls for viewability will change ad buying

Agencies are pushing for transparency from publishers on all fronts, but viewability has by far become their most pressing priority. GroupM, the biggest digital media buyer in the U.S., announced it would shift its buying from open exchanges to private ones, in a push for greater transparency.... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2014-07-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #greater transparency #major players #sponsor content


Native-Ad Metrics Startup SimpleReach Raises $9 Million

SimpleReach, a company that provides publishers like The New York Times and Forbes with measurement and distribution tools for their native ad programs, has raised $9 million in its first big round of financing, the company said Tuesday. With the new series A funds, SimpleReach plans to invest... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-07-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #big round #foundational player #kirk wolfe #general partner #mk capital #atlas ventures #village ventures #native advertising #tactic embraced


Native-Ad Metrics Startup Simple Reach Raises $9 Million

SimpleReach, a company that provides publishers like The New York Times and Forbes with measurement and distribution tools for their native ad programs, has raised $9 million in its first big round of financing, the company said Tuesday. With the new series A funds, SimpleReach plans to invest... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-07-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #big round #foundational player #kirk wolfe #general partner #mk capital #atlas ventures #village ventures #native advertising #tactic embraced


Self-publishing surging to 31% of ebook market, claims report

Hugh Howey says his study, based on calculation of Amazon sales, shows 'real progress' for authors who have chosen to go it aloneA new report claims that self-published authors have surged to 31% of ebook sales on Amazon.com, and are now earning more ebook royalties than writers published by the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #hugh howey #ebook sales #ebook royalties #traditional publishers


How Top Publishers Label Content Recommendation Ads

As the debate rages over the ethics of native advertising on both sides of the Atlantic, regulators in the U.K. have added more fuel to the fire. A ruling by the U.K.’s Advertising Standards Authority against Outbrain is forcing publisher ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2014-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #debate rages #native advertising


Time Inc. Creates Native Ad Group to Forge Programs Across Brands

Time Inc. has created an eight-person unit to focus on native advertising at the publishing company, led by a staffer from the editorial side, Sports Illustrated Group Creative Director Chris Hercik, and another from the business side, Senior VP-Marketing and Sales Development Priya Narang.Mr.... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Comics, Graphic Novels Market Hit $870 Million in 2013

Led by book format comics with $415 million in sales, the North American comics and graphic novel marketplace generated $870 million in sales in 2013, according to a new estimate by ICV2 and Comichron. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Egyptian, Syrian Islamic Publishers Stay Faithful to Market

Egypt, where book sales have fallen by 50%, has given a home to several Syrian Islamic publishers who say the faithful need them as much now as before. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book sales


Oceano Moves Into Ebooks, Mines Smaller Spanish Markets

Oceano, one of the largest Spanish-language publishers, has finally launched a line of ebook titles out of its Mexico subsidiary aimed at Latin America. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #finally launched #ebook titles #latin america


Bookseller Marketing and Publicity Conference: 'Can't replace gut instinct'

The use of social media and consumer insight do not "replace our gut instinct", The... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bookseller marketing #publicity conference #consumer insight


Bookseller Marketing and Publicity Conference: Live Blog

Speakers from YouTube and Buzzfeed will join representatives from the trade at today’s... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bookseller marketing #publicity conference #live blog


Google and ABC Build a Programmatic Ad Exchange That Only Buys Mastheads

Google's private programmatic exchanges can now book premium ad space like mastheads for brands. It is working with ABC to promote the new show Rising Star using an exchange that only places ads in prominent positions, ones that are not typically associated with automated buying. "This exchange... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2014-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital strategy #rising star #rolling stone #huge part #ad world


Eyes on the prize for children's market

In the past 20 years, the number of prizes geared towards children’s books has trebled,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How to squeeze more out of digital marketing

Studies show that two people with the same name tend to like each other. But that’s not why I like James Altucher. I like him because he is provocative and insightful. Altucher is an entrepreneur, chess master, author, comic book lover, and once-wannabe rapper. He’s also very accessible.... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal

[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2014-07-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital marketing #studies show


Digital Video Ads That Make You Want to Click

Kraft, Nike, Target and Walmart are trialing new video technology that makes ads interactive. In the case of Kraft, a 15-second clip comes with pop-up information on the brand and its products. As the video runs, a click over one of the frames pulls up a pastry recipe or product details for... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2014-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #santa monica #raised $2 #growing segment #digital advertising #michael lazerow #ben barokas


Study: Magazine Tablet Edition Ads Get Same Recall as Those in Print

Ads in tablet editions work pretty much as well as those in print magazines, at least when it comes to recall, according to a study released today by GfK.The research company's MRI Starch Advertising Research unit found ads in tablet versions of magazines had an average 52% level of recall, the... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #print magazines #print editions #research company #tablet editions


Facebook buys video ad platform LiveRail

Facebook Inc. bought video advertising company LiveRail to help it target and distribute video ads, AdWeek reported. TechCrunch pegged the price tag between $400 million and $500 million, although the companies haven’t disclosed the terms. LiveRail, based in San Francisco, has created a... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal

[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2014-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #price tag #$400 million #$500 million


Mobile Ads Will Surpass Print and Radio This Year

Yes, there's money to be made in mobile advertising. New York-based eMarketer predicts mobile will account for 9.8 percent of the total United States ads marketplace this year, surpassing newspapers (9.3 percent), magazines (8.4 percent) and radio (8.6 percent). Brands are spending 83 percent... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2014-07-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #advertising marketplace #research company #tv advertising