Vinnie Jones is first celebrity to front a UK e-cigarette ad

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/jun/01/vinnie-jones-e-cigarette-ad-kik

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Vinnie Jones is to become the first celebrity to sign up to front a primetime TV campaign promoting e-cigarettes in the UK.

Jones, known for roles in films including Guy Ritchie’s Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, is taking his tough guy persona to the small screen to promote Kik e-cigarettes.

Jones, a former smoker, is not seen “vaping” – inhaling vapour from an e-cigarette – but gives his typically to-the-point style hard sell of the virtues of electronic smokes. “You know it makes sense,” he says at one point.

Jones explains that there are 80 flavours of Kik E-cigarettes and explains that smokers should give up tobacco in favour of the safer electronic version. Jones is understood to be a fan of e-cigarettes in real life.

“We are fast becoming known for our innovative approach to the vaping industry and how we market to past smokers keen to make the change to e-cigarettes,” said Kik chief executive Sandy Chadha. “Vinnie Jones was a natural choice for us to sign up, he is a Hollywood A-lister and well known among our target audience.”

The £1.2m TV campaign breaks on Monday with primetime slots booked in ITV’s hit soaps Coronation Street and Emmerdale on Wednesday, and the Champions League final between Juventus and Barcelona on Sky Sports on Saturday.

Rather ironically, Jones was last seen in a TV commercial fronting the British Heart Foundation’s award-winning campaign teaching how to do CPR using the rhthym of Bee Gees hit Stayin’ Alive.

The marketing of e-cigarettes has proved controversial with some groups claiming they continue to promote smoking, and others arguing they are a safer alternative, or for those looking to quit real cigarettes, as they contain nicotine but not tobacco.More than 2 million people use e-cigarettes in the UK.

In November, the first TV advert in nearly half a century to feature a person smoking was broadcast following a change to the advertising code by the Advertising Standards Authority.

In October, the ASA outlined its new e-cigarette marketing rules which said that ads must not be associated with youth culture, feature under-25s, or be likely to appeal to those under 18 years old.

Ads are also not allowed to encourage non-smokers or non-nicotine product users to use e-cigarettes.

An advert for the VIP e-cigarette brand was the most complained about of 2013, prompting 937 complaints about its “overtly sexual tone”.

EU legislation threatening cross-border curbs on promoting e-cigarettes are due in May 2016, a move already subject to a legal challenge by the British company Totally Wicked, but it is not yet clear how these might be implemented in Britain

Cigarette commercials were banned in 1965. The ban was extended to include ads for cigars and rolling tobacco in 1991.