Camel ‘Collector’s Packs’ Have Anti-Smoking Activists Fuming : Tobacco: R.J. Reynolds’ action is seen as an attempt to lure youngsters. Company insists its motives are pure.

The smirking face of Joe Camel has resurfaced on the last place that anti-smoking activists want to see him: cigarette packs.

The provocative cartoon mascot for Camel cigarettes--denounced by critics for its appeal to children--is being nationally distributed by tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds on cardboard “collector’s packs” of Camel Lights as part of what the company is calling a temporary promotion.

Just last month, the surgeon general harshly criticized the cartoon mascot for its appeal to children. And earlier this year, the company took heat after it added female camel caricatures to its ad mix.

Marketing experts say the latest action by the tobacco company is a clear attempt to boost sales by more closely connecting the product with its highly publicized ad campaign. Reynolds insists its motives are pure.

The new packaging “is just a fun thing for our franchise of smokers,” said Maura Ellis, a spokeswoman for Reynolds. “We’ve said all along that if we felt the cartoon character was causing kids to begin smoking, we would stop it.”

But critics contend that Reynolds’ action is an attempt to get children to reach for the pack.

“This is a new low in advertising,” fumed John F. Banzhaf III, executive director of Action on Smoking & Health. “Children, of course, will now want to pick up the packs and collect them. This is the most despicable thing that R.J. Reynolds has done.”

Despite claims by Reynolds executives that the cartoon camel has no special appeal to children, “it has become a status symbol among young kids,” said David Altman, president of the group Stop Teen-age Addiction to Tobacco. “Obviously, the company plans on pushing the camel cartoon just as far as it can.”

The latest promotion features five different camel characters--four of which are members of the imaginary “Hard Pack” musical quartet, Ellis said. All of them also appear in print ads.

Placing pictures of the big-nosed camels on the packs “is a way to get consumers to look twice,” said Stephen A. Greyser, marketing professor at Harvard University. It prompts consumers to immediately link the product with the ads, he said.

R.J. Reynolds and the rest of the tobacco industry have faced mounting public criticism for months. Two weeks ago, top tobacco executives were humbled by a grilling from a congressional committee. Shortly before that, a report from Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders specifically criticized the Joe Camel ads for their “special” appeal to youth.

A survey by the Journal of the American Medical Assn. several years ago found that some 6-year-olds said they were as familiar with Joe Camel as with Mickey Mouse. Another survey found that nearly 25% of all Camel smokers are under 25 years old.

Reynolds has also turned the cartoon camel into a promotional bonanza. It publishes catalogues that encourage smokers to purchase Camels by luring them with an array of free items--from T-shirts to leather jackets--in exchange for proof-of-purchases.

The Joe Camel caricature was created by a British artist in 1974 for a French ad agency. It debuted in the United States in 1988 for the 75th anniversary of the brand. At the time, the camel’s face showed up on all sorts of promotional materials--even briefly making an appearance on a limited number of cigarette packs before anyone knew who or what it was.

Last year, Nicholas Price, who created Joe Camel, told a reporter that he was “mortified” the campaign appeared to attract children. After all, he said, he is a father of seven.