Lending an Earring to Big Tobacco

Is R.J. Reynolds capable of creating an advertising campaign that doesn’t raise eyebrows? Or . . . du-uh . . . maybe that’s the point. Years ago, teenagers spent hours trying to spot the naked man hidden in the fur of the camel on cigarette packs. (Victims, perhaps, of just one more urban legend.) Of course, they could also debate the far less subliminal issue of which body part Joe Camel’s head really looked like. R.J. Reynolds was forced to pull the plug on the cartoonish camel for being too kiddie-friendly. A new crop of print advertisements introduced last month features a suave, fedora-wearing Camel chap (species: homo sapiens) sporting an earring--in the left ear. An earring?

This led us to wonder: Who, exactly, is the ad’s target audience?

“All of our ads are developed for adult smokers, of which there are about 45 million in this country,” says Reynolds spokeswoman Carole Crosslin. “And they all have different interests and lifestyles.”

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“Celestine Prophecy” author James Redfield is proposing a global wave of prayer to begin on Dec. 31 at 11:59 p.m. in the South Pacific and roll across the Earth as people welcome the new millennium.

“Imagine the incredible energy created when millions of people at celebrations, in places of worship, in home or work spend a minute focusing their prayers and positive thoughts during the New Year’s Eve countdown,” Redfield explained.

Our only question: Can we pray and swill champagne at the same time?

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For those who were not dismayed by last week’s report in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. about the increasing number of obese Americans: Through December, Twinkies will be available in commemorative millennium packages. Each limited-edition box will be numbered. Collect enough of them and you, too, can gain 20 pounds by the year 2000!

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Cher made a believer out of Robert Gardner, a Barbie collector who forked over $15,000 for a doll in the singer’s image at last weekend’s Dream Halloween fund-raiser for the group Children Affected by AIDS. Gardner and his wife, Kathleen, have 5,000 Barbies in curio cabinets in their Mission Viejo home. “I think I got a deal,” said Gardner, who was willing to pay as much as $28,000.

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For those who have been in a cultural coma for the last 15 years, bible-of-the-hip Paper Magazine has published a new guide to pop culture: “From AbFab to Zen” (Paper Publishing, $24.95). Sample entries: Joe Boxer, junk bonds, Lollapalooza, Old Skool, PETA and phat. We wouldn’t dare insult you by defining the terms.

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Tooth tattoos? Pearly whites are almost as synonymous with Southern California as convertibles and palm trees, but dentists are hoping ToothArt will be the Next Big Thing around here.

Smiles may be stylized at home with ToothArt stickers (smiley faces, butterflies, soccer balls, etc.) or at the dentist’s office with faux jewels (rubies, emeralds, sapphires and more) bonded into teeth for a more lasting effect. We figure it’s just a matter of time before advertisers start buying space on famous bicuspids.

For more information, visit the Web site, https://www.toothart.com.

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TV’s Megan Mullally (the whiny-voiced Karen on NBC’s “Will and Grace”), Assemblyman Bob Hertzberg, (D-Sherman Oaks,) and others met in downtown L.A. on Tuesday to urge Californians to submit applications for an AIDS Research license plate. The DMV will only make the plates once they’ve received 5,000 applications.

Times staff writer Michael Quintanilla contributed to this column. Booth Moore can be reached via e-mail at booth.moore@latimes.com.