Technicalities

August 13, 2008

A Deliberate Hit Piece

This lovely headline turned up on my feeds today:

Blacks seen as targets of menthol

Yes folks - those eeeevil tobacco companies are at it again... advertising their products!!!

(GASP! Oh horror! How dare they advertise a legal product! Where's the tar and feathers!)

We have the testimony of one person! Look!

Billy Perry of Chicago said he's been smoking Newports for 30 years. "It has a better taste and less of the effects of harshness," Perry said.

But Perry said there is "not a shadow of a doubt that blacks are being targeted" by cigarette marketing campaigns.

Then even more testimony from a second person!!!

For her part, Twaynis Royal, a Newport smoker who is a student at Chicago's Robert Morris College, said cigarette firms have identified their market and are going after it. Royal, who is 25, said she started smoking Newports as a teenager, because that was what her parents smoked.

You will please avert your eyes and fail to notice that both these people have different reasons for smoking these cigarettes... Bill's been at it for 30 years and says he likes how they taste, Twaynis smokes them because that's what she grew up with... Neither of these people say they were persuaded to smoke these cigarettes because of marketing - yet both of them insist that marketing targets "blacks"...

Amazing what the power of suggestion will do.

So what is all this "marketing" of which they speak? We get one single stunning example! The amount of effort expended on our behalf to keep us informed is simply incredible.

Along major commercial strips in black neighborhoods in Flint, the signs on liquor and convenience stores promote "Newport Pleasure!" "Kool" and other menthol brands. At a north side convenience store, more than 80 percent of the cigarette sales are menthol, said Nagibe Abu Eiea, the store's manager.

Now, I want them to go into liquor stores in other parts of the city and tell me... do the tobacco companies not market there? Are stores in predominantly black areas the only place they market these cigarette brands?

Oh sorry - I'm expecting them to provide me with facts. After reading the entire story I'm still waiting for the writer to show me how "blacks" are targetted directly, as opposed to any other race in this country, for menthol type cigarettes.

Mind you, they may be correct in their assumption. However, this ridiculous piece of writing proves nothing and gives no facts about the original assertion. That is most irritating. It does have plenty of declaratory statements, but the primary focus of the article is never proved in the body of work.

At the finish I wanted to find the writer and say, "and your point is...???"

Posted by: Teresa in Idiocies at 01:40 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 462 words, total size 3 kb.

1 "Congress is weighing a ban on flavored cigarettes . . . "

Wow, this is important stuff. And all anecdotal. "A study." Uh-huh.

Posted by: dogette at August 13, 2008 06:01 PM (q/UVc)

2 Paging Dale Gribble...

Posted by: Cappy at August 13, 2008 08:00 PM (M2ASi)

3 Dogette - yeah, dontcha just love it.

Cappy - I had to look that up... LOL.

Posted by: Teresa at August 13, 2008 10:59 PM (mMa3+)

4 This is Twaynis Royal, the real Twaynis Lynette Royal born 2/11/83. First let me say, it's a pleasure to be noticed and thank you for this venue in which you display recognition of little old me.While you and I are entitled to our opinion, I would have appreciated if you would have actually gone to the source(that being me) before believing everything you read. You could have asked me if that is what I said and if so could I expound on the topic. I would have been more than happy to do so. We all know how things can be taken out of context or perceived differently than what was intended. However, I did agree certain tobacco companies target blacks for their products,but I did not intend for it to have a negative meaning. Newport targeting blacks is no more immoral or unethical than Kahlua targeting whites. It's a business strategy and a damn good one I might add. It is the nature of the beast; if that's who your customers are than so be it, you have to aim to please. It's no secret that certain races prefer certain brands or products; of course there is always the exception that disproves the rule. At the end of the day we all have to responsible for our own actions and decisions. I don't blame Newport for my smoking cigarettes. But regardless I intended no pro-black anti-white society vibe behind what I said. I was standing outside Robert Morris smoking a Newport talking to the reporter. He asked me if he could ask me a few questions and compile my answers with others to publish an article. I have nothing to hide nothing to lose nothing to gain. I am a Newport smoker and proud of it, and I personally don't give a damn who corporate America targets for what product as long as I can somewhat handle the influence on my family (I have 2 beautiful children). While I do respect your opinion, I do however wish you would have actually consulted me before blogging an article quoting me. I just so happen to be bored one day and Googled myself and found this. I do appreciate you taking the time to notice me and my opinion (however incorrectly repeated or received); it still gives me a warm feeling inside to know I affected someone else. I will try to make that impact more positive though starting now.

Posted by: Twaynis Royal at February 27, 2011 09:03 PM (0WlxG)

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