Tuesday, April 19, 2016

J U S T Y O U & blu

We’re sure you’ve see those alluring blue lights twinkling like fireflies around the city of late… well smoke signals are now making their way across our TV screens and National Press, clouding our vision by flickering around Calvin Klein style imagery.

We are of course referring to the e-cigarette brand Blu, who provocatively wrapped themselves around yesterday’s Metro and Evening Standard. The idea of advertising e-cigarettes raises a few eyebrows, but the racy approach from Blu certainly raises a lot more.

Yesterday’s coverwraps saw an attractive naked woman standing at the window of her city apartment indulging in one of Blu’s ‘glow sticks’. Even the copy on the inside cover was attractive claiming the e-cigarettes are ‘modern’, flexible, ‘slim’, and ‘easy’, offering 15% off the Blu kit, not to mention the obvious denotation of the brand name and logo, guys you know what I’m referring to. Flicking over to the OBC, Blu continue to fly close to the wind with yet another black and white shot, this time of a rugged woman puffing the ‘trendy’ nicotine gadget in her helicopter, suggesting, wealth, style, and that classic blasé coolness of a cigarette.

Now, we could rant about the objectification of women and the controversy of advertising e-cigarettes, but our biggest concern was the sexualisation and ‘cool’ character Blu are creating for e-cigs. Should Blu be allowed to portray such an enticing lifestyle brand image for a product that contains nicotine? The combination of this with the candy shop of flavours available is sure to be a big hit with early adopters. Blu might want to think twice next time they decided to spread.




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