The end of print... at least for cigarette ads

[This may be the last Camel ad you ever see]

According to the NYTimes, RJ Reynolds announced that starting in 2008, it will no longer advertise in magazines and newspapers. The cigarette behemoth will devote its marketing budget to online, direct mail and bars and nightclubs.

Both Kirsten and I once worked for a company that produced marketing materials for RJ Reynolds so we have seen the even seedier underbelly of the beast, as it were. Hopefully, in our lifetime, cigarettes will become as obscure as a coelacanth but until then, every little step out of the limelight is a step in the right direction.