SECTION: NEWS

LENGTH: 974 words

TITLE: Philip Morris and National Archives Light-Up Bill of Rights

AUTHOR: By Karen Broder and Tim Hensley

TEXT:
Early in November, the Philip Morris Company launched a 2-year $ 60-million corporate image advertising campaign to promote the themes of liberty and freedom of expression. The company, a tobacco and food products giant, developed this print and broadcast campaign in conjunction with the National Archives, a federal agency.

The advertising strategy links the company to the protection of First Amendment rights such as freedom of speech. In addition, the campaign has indirectly provided a channel for Philip Morris to increase its access to the airways from which cigarette ads have been banned by federal law since 1971.

At a congressional hearing November 16, the day of the "Great American Smokeout," Rep. Thomas A. Luken (D-OH) said, "Philip Morris is synonymous with cigarettes, and it's clear that the advertising campaign by Philip Morris is an insidious attempt by the leading merchant of addiction to sell more cigarettes by wrapping itself in the Bill of Rights."
 
Violation

John Banzhaf III, executive director of Action on Smoking and Health, testified that he believes the ads violate the advertising ban.

"If responsible federal agencies do not act to prevent this kind of advertising, then how can we stop Marlboro from running commercials glorifying cowboys, Virginia Slims from running TV ads congratulating women athletes, and R. J. Reynolds from airing tributes to the tobacco industry?" he asked.

Luken noted that the Philip Morris logo is shown prominently on the television commercials, in spite of the fact that Philip Morris has been the name of one of the company's cigarette brands. Even if the television advertisements do not legally prove to violate the cigarette ad ban on television, the National Archives/Philip Morris Bill of Rights promotion is creating concern in the public health community.
 
Code Breached?

Use in the campaign of the Philip Morris logo, which has appeared only on its cigarettes, also raises an unresolved ethical question: Did the National Archives breach a moral code by collaborating with Philip Morris on the project?

Claudine J. Weiher, deputy archivist of the United States, explained that the National Archives, which houses the Bill of Rights, saw the upcoming 200th anniversary of the Bill of Rights as "a manifest opportunity to remind the nation of its heritage of civil liberties," and sought private-sector support to enhance the scope of its educational campaign.

Weiher indicated that the National Archives asked several corporations to underwrite the project, but only Philip Morris responded positively. Philip Morris has agreed to pay the Archives $ 600,000. In exchange, the company receives the right to use the National Archives name along with its own for advertisements and other promotional activities related to the Bill of Rights.

In a memorandum of understanding between the two parties, Guy Smith, corporate affairs vice president at Philip Morris, said the company wanted to use the campaign "to communicate that, as the largest consumer marketing company in the country, it is one of America's most diverse corporations."
 
Cigarette Profits

However, in 1988, 53% of Philip Morris' revenues and 81% of its profits were from cigarettes. According to a Wall Street Journal article of November 1, 1989, Smith said, "If they think well of the company through our support of the Bill of Rights, it follows they'll think well of our products."

In the past Philip Morris has launched aggressive "smokers' rights" activities that mirror the current Bill of Rights campaign. Following the American Cancer Society's 1986 "Great American Smokeout," the company distributed its "Great American Smoker's Kit," which included a "Great American Smoker's Bill of Rights."

That "bill," like the genuine Bill of Rights, listed 10 inalienable rights.
 
Upscale Defections

Ahron Leichtman, president of Citizens Against Tobacco Smoke, called the new ad campaign, which fuses the names of Philip Morris and the Bill of Rights, "a way for Philip Morris to try to establish its legitimacy and to stem the defection of the upscale smokers whom Philip Morris so badly needs."

The antismoking community fears that the joint campaign may imply to Americans that the National Archives endorses Philip Morris' products, in spite of Weiher's statement at the hearing that the National Archives "will neither advocate [the company's] programs nor acclaim their products."

The Archives' Weiher said a main goal of the project is to heighten knowledge about the significance of Bill of Rights among the American public: "The National Archives is not for the scholar alone, it should serve all people -- adult, student, and school child alike."

In addition to placing its logo on television, the campaign helps Philip Morris acquire a valuable mailing list. By November 15, 1989, only 2 weeks after the campaign's onset, the company had received names and addresses from more than 310,198 individuals and 113,846 groups, including the Boy Scouts of America.
 
Improper Use

The National Archives maintains that Philip Morris has promised to use this list only to promote the Bill of Rights. Congressman Luken, however, expressed concern that Philip Morris might use the list to solicit use of its products as well.

Luken is addressing two important issues regarding the Philip Morris advertising campaign with the National Archives:

First, Luken has requested the Justice Department review the Bill of Rights campaign to determine whether the 1971 cigarette advertising ban has been violated, even though the broadcast advertisements do not directly mention cigarettes.

Second, maintaining that the ads are illegal and improper, Luken has asked the National Archives to terminate its contract with Philip Morris.

GRAPHIC: Picture, U.S. Rep. Thomas A. Luken; Illustration, no caption, Copyright 1989 by Herblock in The Washington Post