Philip Morris Companies, the tobacco giant behind Marlboro, owned Lunchables for 23 years and used cigarette research strategies to shape the brand.
- Internal documents show Philip Morris shared scientists, technology, and product development methods across its tobacco, food, and alcohol divisions, with Lunchables serving as a model example of that strategy.
- Lunchables was engineered to appeal to kids’ desire for autonomy and to ease mothers’ guilt, using the same consumer psychology approach Philip Morris developed for cigarettes.
- Researchers say tobacco-style regulations, including warning labels, taxes, and restrictions on child-focused marketing, may be worth applying to ultraprocessed foods like Lunchables.
Yes! Or wait, do you mean like in consumable media, TV shows, movies, etc? Then yes, I have noticed more smoking, and definitely vaping if the setting is contemporary. I always thought smoking was a no-no on network TV but maybe primetime gets a pass.
Do you also mean advertising influenced by “classic” cigarette ads? Then also yes, in a way. I see a lot of similarities in attitude and tonal delivery with other ads, quite often overtly sexual.
Tid bit dystopian tbh