Billboards Into the Ashcan

A billboard that on Friday will replace the famous Marlboro Man advertisement that has stood high above the Sunset Strip for 17 years is a sign of the times. The larger-than-life cowboy still wears the familiar white hat and blue denim jacket. But the ever-present cigarette is limp, and the eight-letter word in the familiar red typeface reads “impotent,” a reference to medical research linking tobacco use and male impotency.

The humiliation of Philip Morris’ macho advertising icon--one of the most famous in the world--is mandated by a $206-billion agreement between tobacco producers and 46 states that requires the companies to remove thousands of billboards by midnight tonight.

Billboard and tobacco company officials say most of the cigarette billboards had faded into the sunset well before tonight’s deadline. After midnight, the cigarette companies must make the boards available for anti-smoking messages, such as the Marlboro Man parody.

Health professionals, including the state Department of Health Services, applaud the outdoor advertising ban as an important victory in the war against smoking.

Meanwhile, the billboard industry, which depends on tobacco for 9% of its annual revenue, is now scrambling to find new customers.

And cigarette companies are searching for new and creative ways to keep their famous brands in the public eye.

For consumers, the ban marks the end of a controversial, creative and colorful period. Over the years, outdoor advertising has ranged from the simple (Mail Pouch chewing tobacco ads painted on the sides of barns) to the elaborate (computer-controlled Joe Camel billboards that R.J. Reynolds erected in high-traffic locations such as Times Square).

Early billboards helped to establish such tag lines as “I’d walk a mile for a Camel” and “Lucky Strike means fine tobacco.”

The medium grew in importance after 1971, when cigarette ads were banned from television and radio. The industry explored everything from skywriting to matchbook covers, but it wasn’t long before such legendary ad people as Leo Burnett, creator of Marlboro’s Western campaign, harnessed the power of outdoor advertising to help build brand awareness.

“Outdoor ads offered a large canvas and a bold impact,” said Roger Lavery, a former ad industry executive who now teaches advertising history courses at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Adcenter. “Billboards are great for image-driven products. It was the perfect medium for something like ‘Marlboro Country,’ with the beautiful landscapes of the hill country.”

Billboards such as the one featuring the Marlboro Man on the Sunset Strip gradually became part of the American landscape.

“He’s been a good friend,” quipped Bettie Wagner, a longtime Hollywood Hills resident who several years ago successfully lobbied city officials to limit the size of the famous billboard. “I’ll miss him.”

The high-profile agreement between attorneys general in 46 states and the major tobacco companies will do more than just change outdoor advertising. Cigarette companies also agreed to drop cartoon characters from their ads, and they can no longer place their famous logos on such non-tobacco products as caps and key chains. They’re also prohibited from targeting youthful consumers in their ads.

Critics contend that the agreement is filled with loopholes that allow cigarette companies to continue advertising outdoors.

“The big loophole on billboards is that any business selling or manufacturing cigarettes can put a sign on the wall up to 14 square feet in size,” said Eric Lindblom, policy research manager for Washington-based Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. “And those pushcarts that sell hot dogs and sodas--if they sell cigarettes--they can put a sign on each side of the cart.”

Don’t expect tobacco companies to stop advertising what is still a perfectly legal product.

“Philip Morris is fully committed to supporting terms of the settlement,” said company spokesman Brendan McCormick. “And we will continue to employ a number of activities that allow us to build brand equity by focusing on adults who choose to smoke.”

Marketers say that cigarette companies can’t afford to let familiar advertising themes wither away in an increasingly brand-conscious society. Some cigarette companies already have modified the look of their advertising. Marlboro, for example, has begun to use Western scenery and wild horses, rather than its ageless cowboy.

“These companies will spend hundreds of millions each year to build brand equity,” said Lavery, who worked on cigarette campaigns during the early 1970s. “But I’d have to think that a branded image will erode more quickly under the terms of this agreement. I’d be very nervous if I didn’t have a well-established brand identity.”

Quitting the cigarette business cold turkey will be painful for outdoor advertising firms, particularly those in rural locations. But the economic impact won’t be as great as it would have been a decade ago, when cigarettes accounted for 28% of industry revenue.

The Marlboro Man parody billboard on the Sunset Strip will begin to take shape during the early-morning hours Friday. State officials refused to say what the billboard will look like, but the ad’s impotency theme leaked out last weekend when a billboard company mistakenly placed the ad on several billboards in Bakersfield.

Terms of the tobacco agreement prohibit health officials from placing their anti-smoking messages on billboards until after midnight tonight.

The anti-smoking ads will remain for the duration of contracts that the tobacco companies have signed with billboard owners. The Marlboro parody on Sunset, for example, will be removed in January, when Philip Morris’ contract for the billboard expires.

The tobacco agreement has created a windfall of sorts for cash-strapped health agencies. State officials will install half a dozen new anti-smoking ads created by Asher & Partners, a Los Angeles-based agency, on 366 billboards statewide. Four other states also will use the new ads.

The state Department of Health Services estimates it would cost $10 million to lease the former tobacco billboards in California, a huge amount of money at an agency with an annual ad budget that ranges from $20 million to $25 million.

“It’s quite a bonus,” said Carla Agar, the state agency’s deputy director. “We could never afford to do what the settlement is allowing us to do with these billboards.”

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Shift to Print

Cigarette companies already direct most of their advertising budgets toward magazines and newspapers. The top five companies spent $504.5 million last year to advertise th

Company: Philip Morris

Budget in millions*: $243.9

Magazines: $172.4

Sunday magazines: $2.9

Newspapers: $3.2

National newspapers: $0.2

Outdoor: $59.4

Other: $5.9

*

Company: RJR Nabisco

Budget in millions*: $165.0

Magazines: $109.0

Sunday magazines: $3.3

Newspapers: $1.0

National newspapers: $0.9

Outdoor: $50.7

Other: $0.1

*

Company: BAT INdustries

Budget in millions*: $72.3

Magazines: $32.2

Sunday magazines: $2.7

Newspapers: $7.2

National newspapers: $0.4

Outdoor: $29.6

Other: $0.0

*

Company: Loews Corp.

Budget in millions*: $23.1

Magazines: $9.9

Sunday magazines: $0.0

Newspapers: $0.0

National newspapers: $0.0

Outdoor: $13.1

Other: $0.0

*

Company: Imperial Tobacco Group

Budget in millions*: $0.1

Magazines: $0.3

Sunday magazines: $0.0

Newspapers: $0.0

National newspapers: $0.0

Outdoor: $0.0

Other: $0.0

*

Company: Top Five

Budget in millions*: $504.5

Magazines: $323.9

Sunday magazines: $8.9

Newspapers: $11.3

National newspapers: $1.6

Outdoor: $152.8

Other: $6.0

*Totals are rounded

*Source: Competitive Media Reporting and Publishers Information Bureau