Tobacco companies applied the same advertising strategies they used to sell cigarettes to get kids hooked on sugar-filled drinks like Kool-Aid and Hawaiian Punch, new research suggests.
Researchers at the University of California San Francisco analyzed corporate archives that showed leading tobacco companies used the cigarette-related intel they gathered on artificial flavors, coloring and marketing to create cartoon ads that would appeal to kids, like those featuring the Kool-Aid Man and Punchy, the mascot for Hawaiian Punch, a study published Thursday in the medical publication BMJ reveals.
Tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds RAI, +2.74% pivoted to sweetened beverages in 1963 when it purchased Hawaiian Punch from Pacific Hawaiian Products Company. The drink had been previously promoted to adults as a cocktail mixer, but R.J. Reynolds put its own spin on the fruit punch drink with the “Punchy” mascot, similarly to how it created the cartoon character “Joe Camel,” to promote cigarettes, according to the report.
Kool-Aid and Capri Sun, which are now owned by KraftHeinz KHC, +0.52% , and Hawaiian Punch, which is now owned by Keurig Dr Pepper KDP, -0.52% , did not immediately return MarketWatch’s requests for comment. R.J. Reynolds and Philip Morris declined to comment on the study.
Cigarette companies used many of the same chemicals that went into products like cherry-scented chewing tobacco and apple-flavored cigarettes for kid’s drinks, Dr. Laura Schmidt, an author of the study and professor of health policy at U.C.S.F. School of Medicine, told the New York Times.The goal, according to a company report from 1985, was “to leave people wanting more.”
“Executives in the two largest U.S.-based tobacco companies had developed colors and flavors as additives for cigarettes and used them to build major children’s beverage product lines,” Schmidt said in a statement. “Even after the tobacco companies sold these brands to food and beverage corporations, many of the product lines and marketing techniques designed to attract kids are still in use today.”
There’s other evidence that fruity flavors can get kids hooked on unhealthy products. A study by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine published last month suggested that young people are becoming addicted to e-cigarettes largely because they come in fruity flavors like mango and cherry. Other studies show that vaping can lead to teens using traditional tobacco cigarettes, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently released new restrictions aimed at limiting the sale of flavors other than tobacco, mint and menthol at brick and mortar stores.
The University of California San Francisco study analyzed how cigarette companies changed their focus to soft drinks when the health effects of smoking tobacco were met with increased scrutiny in the 1960s and 1970s. During that time, R.J. Reynolds did taste tests with kids to evaluate colors, sweetness and flavors for Hawaiian Punch products. Then by 1983, R.J. Reynolds launched the country’s first juice box, positioned as a “handy little carton that comes with its very own straw.” The innovation led to a 34% jump in sales, according to the documents.
In 1985, Philip Morris, the maker of Marlboro cigarettes PM, +0.12% , bought Kool-Aid, and flipped the script on its marketing campaign, switching from targeting families to kids specifically by creating the Kool-Aid Man cartoon, similarly to how it used the iconic Marlboro man to sell cigarettes, researchers said. Kool-Aid also launched partnerships with toy brands like Hot Wheels and Barbie MAT, -0.75% Even after the tobacco companies sold the brands to food and beverage corporations, many of the product lines and marketing campaigns designed to lure in kids are still in use today.
The research comes as kids in America consume an average of 143 calories a day in sugary beverages, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. What’s more, almost one third of kids in the U.S. are overweight or obese, according to the CDC.
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