A brunette with new charms

Tobacco advertising line extension, new design and independent launch campaign are to revive the tired Swiss PM cigarette Brunette.To which year does the last classic advertising campaign for Brunette go back? The traditional Swiss cigarette has a market share of four percent, explains Raymond Pantet, press spokesman for Philip Morris SA Switzerland, to which it has belonged since the 1960s. But when asked, even he gets puzzled. "Consumer taste went much more in the direction of American Blend. That's why we concentrated communication mainly on these brands, i.e. Marlboro, Philip Morris, L&M like Chesterfield." In terms of product range, however, Brunette was increasingly evolving from cash cow to poor dog. Its strong positioning predominantly with older, male, physically working people hardly radiates desirable qualities for a pleasure product among the younger generations today. High time for an image correction. The specifications for a unique niche positioning are indeed good: traditional gout, Swissness, a patinated heritage from the years of the great Swiss machine industry.Parisienne as a silent role modelWhat the competition succeeded in doing with the relaunch of Parisienne should also be possible with Brunette, according to the unspoken goal at Philip Morris (PM). The former positioned itself in the zeitgeist of the 1990s with artistically "crafted" poster conversions and author spots as a cigarette for young individualists and gave the community a name - Parisienne People. Within a few years, the BAT brand moved to the northeast on the psychographic map of Switzerland.
These days, the new, "particularly mild and balanced" Brunette Special Tabac is launched - with packaging and an integrated advertising campaign by MRG Communications. For this, the creatives were guided by the naturalness of the blend - blond Virginia tobacco, aromatic Burley varieties and a pinch of spicy Oriental tobacco. The design, with its retro look, is meant to allude to the brand's tradition and create a gritty working-class groove with elements like the gear wheel. The teal packaging is designed to support the special positioning at POS and stand out. "Packaging tests showed that the color is particularly well received by men," says a delighted MRG consultant Esther Weber. In addition to the Btl measures, after more than ten years the company is once again relying on classic advertising, which for the time being focuses on the novelty value of the cigarette. For this, shrill colors and wild patterns create a strong contrast to the packaging. After the Brunette appearances at the music festivals, MRG has planned further activities for the current year.
Brunette Special Tabac: trend for working class heroes.
Luca Aloisi