Plain Packaging and its Unintended Consequences

This Economic Note is the second in a series on the growing tendency of governments around the world to regulate the advertising industry more and more strictly. Whether in the name of consumer protection or health concerns, decision makers prefer to attack advertising for products deemed harmful rather than prohibiting them directly. The head of planning for a well respected ad agency recently predicted in the British newsweekly The Observer that this regulation would take the form of mandatory plain packaging for products like cigarettes, a measure intended to discourage their use.

Media Release, August 15, 2011 :: Plain packaging for cigarettes: at best, ineffective; at worst, harmful

Download “Table 1 – The Ten Most Valuable Global Brands in 2010” in JPEG or EPS format

The Influence of Advertising on Consumption :: Economic Note on the regulation of advertising for certain products, June 16, 2011

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