Brand appearances in contemporary cinema films and contribution to global marketing of cigarettes

Background The appearance of a cigarette brand in a cinema film gives the b rand a certain distinction through its association with the characters and general tone of the film. Through the worldwide distribution of films, bran ds are promoted globally. We assessed the tobacco-brand appearances in a 10 -year sample of contemporary films. Methods We viewed the contents of the top 25 US box-office films for each y ear of release, from 1988 to 1997 (250 films in total). We compared the pre valence of brand appearances for films produced before a voluntary ban on p aid product placement by the tobacco industry (1988-90) with films produced after the ban (1991-97). Tobacco-brand appearance was defined as the scree n appearance of a brand name, logo, or identifiable trademark on products o r product packaging, billboards, store-front advertising, or tobacco promot ional items. We defined actor endorsement of a brand as the display of a br and while being handled or used by an actor. Findings More than 85% of the films contained tobacco use. Tobacco brands a ppeared in 70 (28%) films. Brand appearances were as common in films suitab le for adolescent audiences as they were in films for adult audiences (32 v s 35%), and were also present in 20% of those rated for children, Prevalenc e of brand appearance did not change overall in relation to the ban. Howeve r, there was a striking increase in the type of brand appearance depicted, with actor endorsement increasing from 1% of films before the ban to 11% af ter. Four US cigarette brands accounted for 80% of brand appearances. Reven ues outside the USA accounted for 49% of total revenues for these films, in dicating a large international audience. Interpretation Tobacco-brand appearances are common in films and are becomi ng increasingly endorsed by actors. The most highly advertised US cigarette brands account for most brand appearances, which suggests an advertising m otive to this practice.