Tobacco Advertising in Canada

Level: Grades 8 to 10

Overview

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In this lesson, students explore the ways in which tobacco products are marketed in Canada. The lesson begins with a class discussion about the ways in which tobacco products are promoted in Canadian society. Students then discuss Canadian law as it pertains to tobacco advertising and debate whether or not the government has been successful in restricting the promotion of tobacco products. Students explore the ways in which tobacco companies use sponsorship, promotions, retail displays, awards, clothing and collectibles as a way to reach consumers - despite advertising restrictions. Students also discuss which of these strategies are most likely to influence teens, and the relationship between advertising and other factors that may contribute to smoking. The lesson concludes with a neighborhood 'tobacco audit' conducted by students to determine whether or not tobacco is promoted locally.

Learning Outcomes

Students will demonstrate:

an awareness of the strategies uses by tobacco advertisers to engage customers and specific target groups
an understanding of Canadian laws relating to tobacco advertising
an awareness of the challenges in enforcing Canadian legislation that prohibits tobacco advertising

Preparation and Materials

Photocopy the student handouts:

Procedure

Guided Discussion

In Canada, tobacco companies must adhere to Canada's Tobacco Act (1997) which regulates the manufacture, sale, labelling and promotion of tobacco products. However, the existence of this Act doesn't mean that tobacco companies aren't marketing their products.

According to Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada, in 1998 - one year after the Act came into effect - Canadian tobacco companies spent over $32 million advertising their products. In 2000, tobacco advertising expenditures cashed in at just under $20 million. (These figures don't include the whopping $70 million a year that tobacco companies spend promoting cigarettes at retail outlets.)

Ask students to brainstorm the ways in which tobacco products are promoted in Canada, and write the answers on the board. (List specific examples for each.) Answers may include:

Sponsorship of sporting, arts or cultural events
(Export A: Extreme Sports Events; Craven A "Just for Laughs" comedy festival; Team Players racing)
Awards Programs
(Matinee Fashion Foundation awards for new designers)
Retail promotions and displays
(countertop displays, product give-aways, contests, exterior posters, in-store posters, clocks, shelving)
Clothing and collectibles
(souvenirs from sporting events, etc.)
Magazine advertisements in U.S. publications sold in Canada
(especially youth-oriented magazines such as Rolling Stone)
Product placement in movies/celebrity smokers
(a number of top-level actors - Brad Pitt, Keanu Reeves, Leonardo DiCaprio, Winona Ryder, Kate Hudson, Nicole Kidman and Julia Roberts - have smoked in some of their movies)

Ask students:

What is the goal of advertising campaigns such as these?
Why is brand loyalty and recognition so important to the cigarette industry?

Write "Parity Products" on the blackboard. Ask students to define what a parity product is, and to give some examples. (Parity products are those whose qualities differ very slightly from brand to brand. It doesn't really matter which is purchased, as all perform about the same. Parity products include gasoline, soft drinks, cigarettes, milk, cola and beer.)

Because three companies control the Canadian tobacco market - Imperial Tobacco, (69.8%) JTI MacDonald, (12.4%) and Rothman's, Benson & Hedges (17.6%) - and because most Canadian tobacco products are made from tobacco grown in Southern Ontario, there is little to distinguish one brand from another. Instead, Canadian tobacco companies rely on brand recognition and customer loyalty to promote their products. In the U.S. studies have consistently shown that the most popular brands of cigarettes are those that are most heavily advertised.

Distribute Tobacco Advertising and Canadian Law and discuss it with students. To see how the Tobacco Act has influenced tobacco promotion, review the sample ads in the Cigarette Advertising in Canada overhead.

Do students feel that the Canadian government has been successful in its goal to prohibit the promotion of tobacco products in this country?
Given the choice between traditional tobacco ads (available in American-based magazines), sponsorship of events by tobacco companies, retail promotions and displays, and smoking and product placement in films, which of these do students believe are most likely to influence the smoking preferences of teens? Why?
Ask students to rank all factors that contribute to teen smoking. Which factor is most significant? Which is least significant? And where does advertising and promotion of tobacco products come in?

Review Canadian Retailers and Cigarette Promotion with students. Currently, retailers in Canada are permitted to display branded tobacco displays, products and accessories.

If you were a Canadian law-maker, would you place restrictions on the retail promotion of tobacco products? What would they be?
Discuss this issue from the perspective of:

- a Health Canada official
- a teenager
- a lawyer
- a tobacco manufacturer
- the owner of a small convenience store

Activities

Tobacco Promotion Worksheet

Distribute Tobacco Promotion in Canada worksheet to students. Have them complete the form, focusing in particular on the target audience of the promotion and the purpose of the tobacco manufacturer - what associations does the company want consumers to make about its brand through this promotion? Discuss the answers as a class.

Tobacco Tour

Ask your students: "Does tobacco have a presence in Canada?" To answer, they will participate in an audit of tobacco advertisements in their own neighbourhood. (Students could take along a camera to document billboards and other outdoor advertising and promotion.) Using the Tobacco Audit sheet as a guide, students will visit grocery stores, convenience stores and gas stations for signs of tobacco promotion, as well as searching the streets. Students will then evaluate the information collected, and develop a presentation of their findings to the class.

Evaluation

Completed Tobacco Audit sheets and presentations