A partnership between Geekvape and PSG to promote an electronic cigarette

E-cigarette manufacturer Geekvape has used the image of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) to promote one of its e-cigarettes on social media. This practice clearly appears to be aimed at young people and teenagers around the world, for whom football players are often role models.

“We are delighted to welcome Geekvape to the Paris Saint-Germain family. Geekvape is an innovative Chinese brand with global ambitions. We share the same determination to combine excellence and elegance. We look forward to working together to develop creative campaigns.” These are the words with which a Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) official presented, in a 2021 press release, the partnership between the famous football club and the electronic cigarette manufacturer Geekvape.

Use of players, colours and football club logo

In an article published in the journal Tobacco Control, a team of German researchers deciphers this partnership as a "operation to normalize the use of electronic cigarettes among adolescents"[1].

Established in 2022, the partnership was renewed in 2023. It allowed Geekvape to produce a special edition of e-cigarettes, in the colors of Paris Saint-Germain. The image of the players and the logo of the football club were also associated with the Geekvape brand, which used them in its promotional activities on social networks. This promotional campaign was notably deployed in Germany, France, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, Australia and Paraguay. It was accessible to people using hashtags that are not related to vaping, with terms such as #football, #psg or #celebration.

Targeting adolescents and young people through sport

German law prohibits advertising e-cigarettes with or without nicotine, whether on radio, television, in the press or on the internet – which includes social media. It was precisely during a study on the promotion of e-cigarettes and nicotine products on social media that the authors of the article uncovered this Geekvape/PSG partnership.

These authors warn that football is a particularly popular sport among teenagers and young adults – the preferred targets of cigarette and vaping manufacturers. They highlight the strong appeal of internationally known PSG football players (Kylian Mbappé and, until recently, Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr.) among teenagers and young adults, for whom they sometimes serve as role models. These findings echo a study published in April 2023 by Vital Strategies, which already listed numerous exploitations of the World Cup by manufacturers of tobacco and nicotine products[2].

The authors conclude that, because of their responsibility towards young people and adolescents, sports clubs – and in particular the most emblematic ones such as PSG – should avoid these types of partnerships and keep their distance from manufacturers of tobacco and nicotine products. Beyond this recommendation made by the authors, this observation highlights the question of the application of advertising and sponsorship bans in force in different countries and the cross-border dimension of many promotional visuals.

Keywords: Geekvape, electronic cigarette, PSG, social networks, promotion, football,

©Tobacco Free Generation

M.F.

[1] Heidt C, Ouédraogo N, Schaller K. Partnership between Geekvape and French football club Paris Saint-Germain. Tobacco Control, Published Online First: 27 October 2023. doi: 10.1136/tc-2023-058219

[2] Vital Strategies. Tobacco Marketing and Football: A Losing Game. New York, NY; 2023.