Syke No.9 vs. Camel No. 9

Sex sells. Advertising wizards exploit this every chance they get. When something is packaged in a sleek and sexy manner it’s hard to say no, let alone look away.

The flip side of that coin is that the same tactic can be used to mask the truth about harmful products, like tobacco. To prove this, Syke #9 was designed to hide harmful ingredients with sexiness, just like tobacco.

Camel No.9 isn’t anything special when you get right down to it. What is special, though, is how it’s marketed. Using feminine themed fonts, colors, imagery and promotional items, Camel No.9 specifically targets women…despite the product being the same crap as any other cigarette.

Syke #9 followed Camel No. 9’s example and even goes so far as to use similar coloring, fonts and marketing strategy. Sure, Syke #9 uses hot models to push the product and guys enjoy it, but it goes much deeper than that. Like Camel, Syke #9 uses suggestive marketing that says women can be fun, sexy and desirable if they drink the product. Camel does the same exact thing.

You’d think that this day and age we’d be able to move beyond falling for generalizing and stereotyping but Camel No. 9 shows us that it’s alive and well. Luckily, Syke #9 shows everyone just how freaking ridiculous and manipulative Camel No. 9 ACTUALLY IS.