Natural American Spirit Cigarettes Ad
There was a time when America wanted BIG. Back in the Sixties, no matter what the product, from big muscle cars to big doses of caffeine in soda pop, Americans loved words like big, more and more often. Time passes, and things change.
In 2009 you can’t give away BIG. No, we live in an age of “less is more” where the engines of advertising are churning full bore to cast a green or greenish aura of social responsibility around every product from hybrid cars to natural health drinks. We live in a confusing time.
We had an easier time of it, I think, when we were just looking for BIG. A thing is either big or it isn’t. It’s easy to compare the small thing with the big thing and determine which is which. This social responsibility stuff is tougher.
To illustrate the difficulty, let’s consider two up and coming hot sellers in today’s market: Natural American Spirit Cigarettes and Republican Health Care Reform. Both are pitched as socially responsible products.
Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company (SFNTC), makers of Natural American Spirit cigarettes, screams at every opportunity that the tobacco used in its cigarettes is 100% Additive Free Natural Tobacco. They also tout that the tobacco, at least some of it, is organically grown. It almost sounds like puffing on these cancer sticks might put the color back in your cheeks! The popularity of the brand is certainly putting a rosy blush on the cheeks of SFNTC execs.
Natural and organic things are good for your health, right? Natural and organic are, in the American mind, code words for wholesome and healthy. In fact, a recent, not altogether scientific, survey reveals that a majority of the public believes that the definition of “organic” includes the word “healthy.” What’s more, a majority of people agree with the statement, “You can’t get fat eating all natural foods.” What more proof do we need that marketers are doing a great job!
Of course, the fattest hogs in the world are raised on organically grown peanuts, and a regular diet of organic pasta dishes and all-natural ice cream will plump you up like a Santa Gertrudis. And, what about rattlesnake venom? It’s all natural and organic, but don’t doubt that it can kill you. So can Natural American Spirit cigarettes.
To take consumers minds off the fact that they are selling a deadly carcinogen and that their products, inter alia, cause lung cancer and heart problems, SFNTC loads up it’s advertising with socially responsible stuff like the company’s participation in roadside cleanup projects, animal shelters and winter clothing drives to help poor people. The company website proudly proclaims that SFNTC provides bio-degradable utensils in its employee break rooms and that “we do not, have not, and never will test our products on animals.”
What a great company! I wonder if Dr. Kevorkian bought Girl Scout cookies?
Did I mention that Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, despite the prolific use of Native American imagery on its packaging and advertising, is utterly unconnected to any Native American tribe, nor is it owned by any Native Americans. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. Now there’s a name synonymous with social responsibility!
Republican Health Care Bill Of Rights For Seniors promo from RNC website.
Then there’s the Republican National Committee, its legions of operatives and considerable congressional office holders, not to mention it’s 24-hour media outlet, Fox News Channel. The RNC is peddling a new product called the “Republican Health Care Bill of Rights for Seniors (HCBORS).” The product launched just this past weekend with its own slick packaging. Let’s take a look.
Here are the product features highlighted in the media releases:
Protect Medicare And Not Cut It In The Name Of Health Care Reform. (Republicans prefer to just kill Medicare altogether. Just shut the whole thing down.)
Prohibit Government From Getting Between Seniors And Their Doctors. This isn’t just a health care issue, it’s a labor issue too. We can’t have bureaucrats telling people what health care they can and can’t have. That’s socialism. Besides, insurance companies already employ one helluva lot of people to deny claims, some of which even live in the United States! Let’s keep those jobs in the private sector and prohibit government from getting between your wallet and and your health insurance cmpany.
Prohibit Efforts to Ration Health Care Based On Age. How evil would that be? Well, so evil that absolutely nobody has proposed it. Still, saying it makes the Republican product look good. Some Republicans are adding to this message that they oppose poisoning old family dogs.
Prevent Government From Interfering With End-Of-Life Care Discussions. There actually is a provision in the health care reform bill (I forget which one) that reads, “The government run socialist health care program shall interfere in all end of life care discussions. The government will encourage elderly patients to call it quits and stop being a burden on everybody else.” Alright, it doesn’t really say that.
Ensure Seniors Can Keep Their Current Coverage. All citizens who are currently uninsured will be able to keep it that way too. Doing nothing at all would produce the same result, but doing something is easier to sell.
Protect Veterans By Preserving Tricare And Other Benefit Programs For Military Families. Yeah, we know that the Obama backed plan already does that, but what can it hurt to say it again? If they say it enough, it might start to sound like a Republican idea. The “no coverage” status of all uninsured people will also be protected and preserved, This really is a Republican idea.
Notice the similarities here? Republican Health Care Reform and Native American Spirit Cigarettes both send up a lot of smoke and they both have the potential to kill you dead as a doornail. Somehow, death doesn’t sound so scary when it’s described as organic, all-natural or socially responsible.
Organic And Sustainable Death! 100% All Natural.
Death—It’s The New “Used To Be Alive!”
Marketing is cool.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
There is something seriously wrong with people who cannot see that the Obama administration is leading this country to ruin. Our freedoms are eroded every day that Obama remains in office with his socialist agenda. You never get something for nothing and we are paying for all these government giveaways with our freedoms.
Warren,
While I hear your honest concern for American civil liberties and the wellbeing of our citizenry, I’d like to point out that it was not the Obama administration that passed the Patriot Act (possibly the most substantial erosion to our civil liberties seen this century). You can thank George W. for that.
Secondly, there is nothing in the Obama plan that takes away your freedom to choose when, where, and how you receive healthcare. In fact, the plan that is currently on the table would give you more choices. More freedom IS better right?
Finally, while I agree that civil liberties are important, how useful are they if you are one of the 22,000 Americans that die each year from lack of healthcare?