2001.11.01

18:20:17
Milan.At a department store's "Marlboro

Milan.
At a department store's "Marlboro Classics" boutique.

This kind of merchandising, which is apparently known as "brand stretching," is a nifty way for tobacco companies to get around restrictions on cigarette advertising. Tobacco companies agreed to stop selling branded clothing in the U.S. in 1998, but they get away with a lot more overseas. People actually buy the clothes, perhaps taken in by the vague assurances of quality on the nonsense-English labels. (Brown colored thread? You don't say!)

For more info see:

--USA Today, Sept. 2000: Cigarette logos abound despite ad bans
--Tobacco Free Kids: Tobacco advertising photo gallery
--Action on Smoking and Health UK: Briefing on 'brand-stretching'
--International Union Against Cancer: How to circumvent tobacco advertising restrictions

The Marlboro Classics line is made in Italy by Marzotto SpA, who want you to know that Marlboro Classics "stands for defense of a pristine natural environment."