Camel No. 9

I like to think of myself as a free thinker, uninfluenced by advertising and popular media. However, today I purchased buy-1-get-1 packs of Camel No. 9 (and yes, I am aware that being a smoker kind of contradicts being a "free thinker," but I started when I was young and as much as I hate it, I’m hooked). Granted I bought them because they were cheaper than my normal brand, but I couldn’t help but smile to myself as I pulled the hot pink tinfoil out of the inside of the pack. I even set it aside to show my boyfriend when he returns home from work as I thought it was "cute." I thought to myself "What cool packaging! What vibrant colors! How slick!"

What can I say, I’m a sucker.

Once I got past the initial glee of hot pink tinfoil, I realized that everything about Camel No. 9 is completely and totally marketed towards women. And I fell for it. Would I have bought it if it wasn’t buy-1-get-1? Probably not. But the fact still remains: I thought it was cool.

The slick black box with the hot pink (or bright teal for menthol) trim looks like a perfume box or a poster for a happening new night club. The box itself is even rounded on the corners, feminine and curvy, and the cigarettes are white with a dainty little pink camel above a thin pink band. Even the name, “Camel No. 9,” rings of elegance, and I cant help but think of that song “Love Potion No. 9” every time I look at the label (and wasn’t there a Chanel No. 9 perfume?). I even noticed that the smoke has a softer, more floral smell to it - and I have to admit, not smelling like an ashtray all day would definitely be a plus.

So there you have it. I was suckered in. Feeling stupid that I bought into it, I decided to research it to see what other people thought. Many reviews noted that, although women make up 50% of all smokers nation-wide, they comprise a measly 30% of Camel's addicted smokers - hence the need for "girly cigarettes" and "girly ad campaigns," such as the one pictured below.

The most disturbing thing, in my opinion, is that I am definitely not the only one to fall for the manipulation. One blog entry about the new Camels yielded comments such as " I rarely smoke - only when I'm drinking - but I'm going to start smoking these simply because of the beautiful box" and "I bought these two nights ago, only because the ads in Vogue got to me. I'm satisfied, they're really light. My friends kept asking me why I wouldn't take the pink paper off in the inside, I just told them it made it look more attractive. Cute packaging always gets to me."

Which brings me to the most important question: if I, a 21-year-old well-rounded, analytical and incredibly cynical, jaded smoker of multiple years can fall for this marketing ploy, how many vulnerable, impressionable, dying-to-look-cool teenage girls will, too? It sickens me that cigarette ads are targeted at young girls and that in the years to come, hundreds more will wish, like I do, that they had never started.

And for the record, no, I will not be buying Camel No. 9 ever again. Yes, the packaging is beautiful and yes, I do enjoy smelling more elegant, but smoking the cigarette itself is like drinking a milkshake through a coffee-stirrer, not to mention that I refuse to reward Camel for its ingenious marketing ploy.