Camel Brand Back in Magazines

R.J. Reynolds’ Camel brand is back in magazines such as Sports Illustrated, Rolling Stone, and Maxim — this time not to advertise cigarettes but to introduce consumers to Camel Snus, the New York Times reported Sept. 22.

Ads in Sports Illustrated promote snus — low-salt packets of powdered tobacco — as “extra inning friendly,” while another publication says, “your flight just got canceled friendly,” pitching snus as a smokeless and spitless alternative to smoking or chewing-tobacco use.

Reynolds voluntarily stopped advertising Camel cigarettes in magazines in 2008 and contends that the policy hasn’t changed.  “We do not advertise cigarettes in print right now and have not done that in a couple of years, but Camel Snus is not a cigarette,” said David Howard, a company spokesman.