TOBACCO COMPANY GETS TOO CLOSE TO KIDS
By Adnews Staff
RJR MacDonald of Toronto soon heard about it last week when one of its transit shelter ads went up too near a secondary school in Hull, Que. The ad was closer than the minimum 200 metres allowed by the tobacco industry's own code and it quickly came down, but not before it raised hackles right up to the Parliament buildings in Ottawa. RJR spokesperson Mary Trudelle, said in a statement that the cigarette company was greatly embarrassed. She later told Adnews that a mistake had been made by the outdoor firm contracted to install the ads, Gallop & Gallop Advertising of Toronto. Gallop president Peter Gallop issued a release contending that advertising does not cause young people to smoke. "The Supreme Court of Canada shot down the previous tobacco ad ban mainly because there is no evidence that advertising causes people to begin smoking or to smoke more," said Gallop. RJR launched the outdoor and print campaign Feb. 16 in Ontario and Quebec for its Export "A" Smooth brand of cigarettes. DDB Needham Worldwide in Toronto did the media buy. A DDB subsidiary, Sharpe Blackmore Partnership, did creative.