Death (cigarette)
Encyclopedia
Death is the brand name for a cigarette
introduced in the United Kingdom
in 1991 by BJ Cunningham of The Enlightened Tobacco Company. The cigarette featured black packaging with a white skull and crossbones logo above their government
health warning
.
' approach included using a hemp
cigarette paper with an ink free, watermark
of a gray skull and crossbones logo
.
Death's "truth in marketing" approach was to highlight the dangers of cigarette smoking. Publicity materials included the logo and small black plastic tombstones with epitaphs. The company also sold merchandise such as black leather jackets, T-shirts and leather pouches with the company logo.
Slogans on the packaging and promotional materials included phrases such as "Let Us Be The Nail In Your Coffin" and "The Grim Reaper Don't Come Cheaper".
Death was initially marketed and distributed through shops, hotels, restaurants, tobacconists and head shops but proved to be unsuccessful allegedly due to interference from its competitors.
Subsequent approaches included marketing the cigarettes from Luxembourg
and allowing UK customers to buy the product by mail order
to avoid paying UK cigarette taxes and duties. However, in a court case involving UK Customs and Excise, the European Court of Justice
ruled that customers must personally transport the cigarettes in order to avoid paying UK duties at the point of entry.
Death was going to be signed by the Pacific F1 team as title sponsor on May 1st 1994, but the contract was negated after Simtek
driver Roland Ratzenberger
's death at Imola
on the previous day
.
From 1995 onwards sales of the cigarette declined and the Enlightened Tobacco Company was closed in September of 1999.
Cigarette
A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well...
introduced in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1991 by BJ Cunningham of The Enlightened Tobacco Company. The cigarette featured black packaging with a white skull and crossbones logo above their government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
health warning
Health Warning
Health Warning is a 1982 Hong Kong film directed by Kirk Wong.It is a dystopian sci-fi kung fu film set in the future...
.
Description and History
Death cigarettes were touted as free of chemical additives such as saltpeter. This 'chemical-freeChemical free
Chemical free or chemical-free is a term used in marketing to imply that a product is safe, healthy or environmentally friendly because it only contains natural ingredients. The term is a misnomer, as nothing that physically exists is free of chemicals...
' approach included using a hemp
Hemp
Hemp is mostly used as a name for low tetrahydrocannabinol strains of the plant Cannabis sativa, of fiber and/or oilseed varieties. In modern times, hemp has been used for industrial purposes including paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, construction, health food and fuel with modest...
cigarette paper with an ink free, watermark
Watermark
A watermark is a recognizable image or pattern in paper that appears as various shades of lightness/darkness when viewed by transmitted light , caused by thickness or density variations in the paper...
of a gray skull and crossbones logo
Logo
A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...
.
Death's "truth in marketing" approach was to highlight the dangers of cigarette smoking. Publicity materials included the logo and small black plastic tombstones with epitaphs. The company also sold merchandise such as black leather jackets, T-shirts and leather pouches with the company logo.
Slogans on the packaging and promotional materials included phrases such as "Let Us Be The Nail In Your Coffin" and "The Grim Reaper Don't Come Cheaper".
Death was initially marketed and distributed through shops, hotels, restaurants, tobacconists and head shops but proved to be unsuccessful allegedly due to interference from its competitors.
Subsequent approaches included marketing the cigarettes from Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
and allowing UK customers to buy the product by mail order
Mail order
Mail order is a term which describes the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote method such as through a telephone call or web site. Then, the products are delivered to the customer...
to avoid paying UK cigarette taxes and duties. However, in a court case involving UK Customs and Excise, the European Court of Justice
European Court of Justice
The Court can sit in plenary session, as a Grand Chamber of 13 judges, or in chambers of three or five judges. Plenary sitting are now very rare, and the court mostly sits in chambers of three or five judges...
ruled that customers must personally transport the cigarettes in order to avoid paying UK duties at the point of entry.
Death was going to be signed by the Pacific F1 team as title sponsor on May 1st 1994, but the contract was negated after Simtek
Simtek
Simtek was an engineering consultancy firm and Formula One racing team. The F1 engineering consultancy arm, Simtek Research, was founded in 1989 by Max Mosley and Nick Wirth. It originally was involved in many areas of Formula One, including wind tunnel construction and chassis building for third...
driver Roland Ratzenberger
Roland Ratzenberger
Roland Ratzenberger was an Austrian racing driver who raced in Formula Nippon, Formula 3000 and Formula One...
's death at Imola
Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari
The Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari is an auto racing circuit near the Italian town of Imola, east of Bologna and east of the Ferrari factory in Maranello....
on the previous day
1994 San Marino Grand Prix
The 1994 San Marino Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on May 1, 1994 at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola, Italy. It was the third race of the 1994 Formula One season...
.
From 1995 onwards sales of the cigarette declined and the Enlightened Tobacco Company was closed in September of 1999.
External links
- To the Best of Our Knowledge 12/31/2006: Interview with Boz Temple-Morris, co-founder and Marketing Director for the Enlightened Tobacco Company (last segment of the recorded interview).
- The Death Cigarette Trademark Infringement Litigation Case