quote:

March 22, 1998

By RAJA MISHRA Knight Ridder Newspapers

The cigar that juts from the mouth of actor Olson Welles as he eyes Kermit the Frog in the "The Muppet Movie" may have been a gift from Philip Morris. The tobacco company supplied the filmmakers with tobacco products, according to newly released company documents. Similar deals were made for "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?," "Die Hard," "Crocodile Dundee" and dozens of other films that, despite being rated PG or R, had huge youth audiences. The arrangements continued through at least 1988 despite pledges by the film industry not to deal with tobacco companies.

Philip Morris has long said it does not target children, but critics believe that deals like these have helped the company circumvent bans on such advertising.

"We know the cigarette companies deny paying to have their brand name appear. They deny advertising to kids. But they get the cigarettes in the movies," said Stanton Glantz, a professor at the University of California at San Francisco who has studied smoking in films.

"A kid coming away from the movies today will have the impression that everyone smokes." "The Muppet Movie" deal raises eyebrows because it is a movie clearly for children. The 1979 film chronicles Kermit the Frog's journey from the swamp to Hollywood. All the main characters, including Miss Piggy and Gonzo the Great, are colorful puppets. Cigars appear in the mouths of three human characters: a bartender, a used-car salesman, and the Hollywood mogul played by Welles.

quote:

1847

Philip Morris, Esq., a tobacconist and importer of fine cigars, opens a shop on Bond Street in London.

quote:

Originally posted by 383rr:
I saw that vile piece of propaganda.

What a bunch of garabage. It's been running non-stop in OheilO, along with those ignorant "OheilO tobacco quit-line ads".