Music videos: an advertising showcase for nicotine

A study published in the scientific journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research looked at marketing strategies promoting the consumption of electronic cigarettes and combustible products in music videos.[1]. The rapid rise of new forms of cultural consumption exposes adolescents and young adults to new forms of promotional discourse. The consumption of combustible products continues to be massively promoted in this content.

To conduct this study, the researchers listed the 180 songs on the American Billboard Hot 100 between June 16 and September 22, 2018, that included an official music video. Each piece of content was viewed and analyzed to determine whether it included product placement promoting e-cigarettes or combustible products (featuring an identifiable brand, logo, or derivative products). The study also counted the number of instances of consumption (appearance of the device itself, cigarettes, cigars), or a cloud of vapor or smoke resulting from obvious consumption. Each video was then categorized according to the musical style and theme of the clip (romance, science fiction, violence, sexual objectification), in order to understand the genre in which the advertising discourse was located.

Tobacco and combustible products in clips

This encoding work demonstrated that the consumption of combustible products (tobacco and cannabis) remains largely valued in this cultural content. One video contained an identifiable product placement (brand of rolling paper), while 47 of them showed combustible products (26.1%). An overwhelming majority of these videos were in a Hip-Hop style (78%), followed distantly by Pop (8%). In the same vein, the main theme of these videos remained that of partying and sociability (46%). Of all the videos, 17.8% depicted the consumption of cigarettes or joints, 9.4% cigars or blunts, 1.7% of hookahs, 0.6% of tobacco pipes, and the same number of bongs (cannabis pipes).

Product placements and staging of nicotine consumption

Of all the videos viewed, eight were identified as featuring a promotional speech for e-cigarettes. Four of them included product placement (2.2%), six featured e-cigarette consumption (3.3%), and one clip included an instance of a vapor cloud. The two e-cigarette brands Mig Vapor and KandyPens were clearly identifiable on screen, through the staging of derivative products (hats), scenes of vaping by young female models or by the artist himself. For 42.8% of the videos identified as promoting e-cigarettes, the music was in the Hip-Hop genre, followed by Pop (28.5%). According to the researchers, 66.6% of the videos were in the theme of sociability and partying (Image/Lifestyle/Sociability).

An advertising channel to watch

While the number of advertising occurrences for e-cigarettes may seem relatively low, the popularity of the videos viewed makes them particularly powerful advertising content. To give just one example, the music video by the artist DJ Khaled, I'm the one, featuring product placements and depictions of consumption, has now peaked at nearly one and a half billion views. According to the researchers, it is necessary for these contents to be monitored because of their advertising discourse in favor of the consumption of tobacco, cannabis or nicotine products. Considering that the consumption of e-cigarettes is associated with a higher risk of smoking initiation and an increased danger to lung health, the authors call for stronger advertising restrictions on these products. Regarding combustible products, the study highlights the need to adopt stricter regulations on advertising for products ancillary to consumption, such as rolling tobacco.

[1] Patricia Escobedo, MA, Erica L Rosenthal, Ph.D, Camille J Saucier, MCG, Jennifer B Unger, Ph.D, Tess B Cruz, Ph.D, Matt Kirkpatrick, Ph.D, Jon-Patrick Allem, Ph.D , E-cigarette product placement and imagery in popular music videos, Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 2020;, ntaa273, https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntaa273