Vype Advertises on UK TV

European tobacco giant British American Tobacco began airing spots for its Vype e-cigarette Monday evening.

While the New York Times treats the story as if BAT is the first company to air on UK televisions, this is certainly not the case. Advertisements for other brands, such as VIP and E-Lites, have previously been televised.

“There’s a lack of clarity among advertisers but also with consumers and we are aware of concerns that ads for e-cigarettes might be seen as cross-promoting tobacco and cigarettes through the back door.”

–Advertising Standard Authority

Past advertisements, however, were quickly pulled from the air after complaints from viewers. Due to anti-smoking regulations in the UK, depictions of cigarettes or cigarette-like objects is prohibited on television, as are references to smoking. Coupled with rules which require clearly identifying the product being advertised, UK’s e-cigarette companies have had to walk a fine line, describing their products without using any references to tobacco or cigarettes. BAT, for example, has had to change their tagline in the ads from “pure satisfaction for smokers” to “pure satisfaction for vapers.”

The Times describes the law which prohibits tobacco advertising but allows ads for electronic cigarettes as a “loophole,” which overlooks that the anti-smoking laws are in place to block the advertisement of a product proven to be hazardous, while no such hazards have been proven for electronic cigarettes. The comment is indicative of the sort of battle electronic cigarette manufacturers will have to face as legislative bodies look to revise the laws around advertising to account for electronic cigarettes: laws that have been in place for so long that it seems many have forgotten why they were enacted in the first place, and it seems a common knee-jerk reaction to try to lump electronic cigarettes into the same category, despite all evidence indicating they are not only much less hazardous than cigarettes, but quite likely are a real alternative for those looking to stop smoking.

Cigarette Ads Come Back to British TV – NYTimes.com.

Vype Advertises on UK TV