Smoke Up, Soul Man

In 1990, R,J. Reynolds was poised to test market a new cigarette brand they called Uptown, and they made no bones about aiming it specifically toward blacks. After years of market research, they learned that three-quarters of black smokers prefer menthol brands, so Uptown was menthol. They also learned that many black smokers prefer to open their packs from the bottom, so they packed the cigarettes upside down. They were set to advertise heavily in black neighborhoods and black publications.

When it came to light that the black community was being targeted by big tobacco, there was such an uproar that Reynolds was forced to shelve the idea.

Fourteen years later, in an effort to compete with Newports, Brown and Williamson is doing much the same thing with their own well-established Kool brand.

Last week, collectible Kool Mixx boxes hit the stores. Ostensibly a promotion tied in with their annual Kool Mixx National DJ Competition, the "special edition" packages come in four different styles. One of the full-cover illustrations features a rapper dripping with gold jewelry; two feature DJs working turntables; the fourth, hiphop dancers.

The message is clear?collect 'em all, black kids, and trade 'em with your little black friends!

We've never been shocked when a big tobacco company does something wicked. When we smoke, we smoke by choice; we know what's involved. We're also well aware that Kools are already popular among black smokers?just not as popular as Newports. Even so, this sort of bare-assed pandering is just a little too over the top.