Tobacco News and Interesting Information

The iconic Camel cigarette pack has undergone its first makeover since it hit store shelves almost a century ago, as R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. tests new ways to market its biggest brands in a lagging market for smokes.

Though the enduring image of the Camel has not changed in the updated packaging, the animal is surrounded by a fresh look -- rounded graphics to highlight the oasis scene, larger and clearer pyramids in the distance, darker lettering emphasizing the Camel name, and color-coded ribbons to identify the style.

The box also touts the brand's history: "Since 1913."

"The challenge was taking something that was an iconic brand -- a sort of flagship -- and giving it a more modern look and feel," said David Howard, a spokesman for the Winston-Salem-based tobacco company. "The challenge is to do that while respecting and not losing site of the rich heritage of the brand."

Camel packaging has seen no significant changes since its inception, but R.J. Reynolds, the largest subsidiary of the nation's second largest tobacco company, Reynolds American Inc., has spent the past several years expanding on the Camel name with alternative offshoots of the standard style.

The new Camel pack, shipped to stores last month and expected to be on 80 percent of store shelves by late March, fits nicely into that campaign, said Wake Forest University marketing professor Michelle Roehm.

Promotional experiments by R.J. Reynolds, which also produces brands such as Kool and Pall Mall, have been met with criticism from anti-tobacco groups.

The company dropped its Joe Camel cartoon character in 1997, after a decade of contention with activists and government leaders who said the character was meant to appeal to children.

More recently, R.J. Reynolds has been defending its Camel No. 9 packaging and advertisements as anti-smoking advocates argue that its chic style is aimed at young women. And R.J. Reynolds again came under fire last year when its ads appeared next to a cartoon-like Rolling Stone segment on independent rock music.

R.J. Reynolds said in November that it would not buy ads in newspapers or consumer magazines in 2008.

Matthew Myers, president of the Washington-based Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said the new Camel packaging underscores the industry's move to build its packaging into a standalone advertising tool.