The FDA (which can now regulate tobacco products) unveiled a bunch of new warning labels for cigarettes. They’re taking public comments and will select 9 from the 36 proposed.
It doesn’t really look like anyone put much thought at all into these. In fact, they’re pretty terrible. And generic “It’ll give you cancer” messages have been proven ineffective (and even counter-productive for younger smokers).
However, what has proven effective, even with younger potential smokers is social perception. Kids who thought their friends were effected by anti-smoking messages were less likely to state intentions to start smoking.
Maybe that’s the thought behind the FDA’s new designs. They just got some shitty stock photography and wrote some totally bland, inoffensive copy on it. There’s nothing compelling or controversial about it at all. It makes cigarette boxes look totally lame. It’s a sort of un-branding.
For young people, it seems that smoking is largely a public performance… it’s all about creating perceptions. And people look to brands to help them create those public perceptions. The FDA is potentially taking away some of the power of those brands to help kids create a desirable public image. Of course, some of these are pretty funny and that helps build social capital, which would make them less effective.
Maybe it’ll work. I used to smoke Kamel Reds (partly because the packaging was cool, and I’m a bit of a design nerd) and this doesn’t look nearly as cool as this.
4 notes |#