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Philip Morris suspends social media campaign after Reuters exposes young 'influencers'
Source: Reuters
JAPAN MAY 10, 2019 / 9:59 PM / UPDATED 5 HOURS AGO
Exclusive: Philip Morris suspends social media campaign after Reuters exposes young 'influencers'
Chris Kirkham
13 MIN READ
(Reuters) - Cigarette maker Philip Morris International Inc has suspended a global social media marketing campaign in response to Reuters inquiries into the company’s use of young online personalities to sell its new “heated tobacco” device, including a 21-year-old woman in Russia.
The company’s internal “marketing standards” prohibit it from promoting tobacco products with youth-oriented celebrities or “models who are or appear to be under the age of 25.”
The company told Reuters of the decision late Friday, saying it had launched an internal investigation into marketing posts and photographs that Reuters sent to the company for comment earlier this week.
They included a paid post plugging the tobacco product by social media “influencer” Alina Tapilina in Moscow - who listed her age as 21 on Instagram - alongside often seductive photos of herself drinking wine, swimming and posing with little clothing in luxurious settings.
-snip-
Exclusive: Philip Morris suspends social media campaign after Reuters exposes young 'influencers'
Chris Kirkham
13 MIN READ
(Reuters) - Cigarette maker Philip Morris International Inc has suspended a global social media marketing campaign in response to Reuters inquiries into the company’s use of young online personalities to sell its new “heated tobacco” device, including a 21-year-old woman in Russia.
The company’s internal “marketing standards” prohibit it from promoting tobacco products with youth-oriented celebrities or “models who are or appear to be under the age of 25.”
The company told Reuters of the decision late Friday, saying it had launched an internal investigation into marketing posts and photographs that Reuters sent to the company for comment earlier this week.
They included a paid post plugging the tobacco product by social media “influencer” Alina Tapilina in Moscow - who listed her age as 21 on Instagram - alongside often seductive photos of herself drinking wine, swimming and posing with little clothing in luxurious settings.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-philipmorris-ecigs-instagram-exclusiv/exclusive-philip-morris-suspends-social-media-campaign-after-reuters-exposes-young-influencers-idUSKCN1SH02K
Alina Tapilina, whose social media profile says she is 21 years old, holds a "heated tobacco" iQOS device as part of a campaign by Philip Morris International to market the device in an Instagram post April 5, 2019.
Alina Tapilina/Social Media via REUTERS.
