Nicolites boss refutes ASA ban response that product positions itself as a cessation aid
Nicolites, the e-cigarette brand has said that its ‘Kicks Butt’ slogan was not created to imply that its products would aid cessation after seeing its advertising campaign banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
The campaign was banned after the ASA told it that it could not claim that the e-cigarette could claim to be an aid to stop smoking.
Nikhil Nathwani, managing director of Nicolites said that the company had worked alongside the ASA to comply with regulations and denied that text or images were meant to imply that the product could be used as a cessation aid.
“We launched this campaign in the Birmingham region last summer to coincide with the announcement of our sponsorship of Birmingham City FC and it is quite clearly a play on words with a reference to football. It was meant to imply that the e-cigarette experience is better than smoking, being more convenient and cheaper and without the tobacco and tar,” he explained.
“We take great care to make sure we do not give the impression that electronic cigarettes are an aid for quitting smoking, but that they are an alternative for people who do not want to smoke tobacco and inhale the 4,000 toxins and carcinogens they contain.
“Our company has a pharmaceutical background and we take great pride in the quality of our products. We are on target to achieve MHRA licensing and we support the Government’s decision to ban the sale of e-cigarettes to under-18s.
“We do all we can to comply with the increasing rules and regulations controlling the sale of electronic cigarettes and associated products. We are therefore disappointed at the ASA ruling – following just two complaints - as it would appear to restrict even further the ways in which we can convey the many benefits of smokers switching to e-cigarettes.”
The Nicolites campaign began last June, and saw the brand work directly with Primesight and JC Decaux to develop the campaign, with a total media spend of £350,000.