More exciting news this week!  Yesterday Alicia Keys played a concert in Jakarta, Indonesia.  Up until earlier this week Philip Morris International's "A Mild" brand had been sponsoring and heavily advertising the tour and the Jakarta show.

The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids brought this to the attentions of Keys and her manager.  Apparently she had no idea Philip Morris International was using her name and image to promote tobacco products, and she quickly spoke out against the sponsorship.  She and her management demanded the ad campaign stop immediately, and that all billboards and other signage be removed.

Here's a link to a brief article and photo in today's Washington Post, and another originally featured on E! Onine.

Want to thank Alicia Keys for standing up to Big Tobacco?  You can send a note to her fan mail address:

Alicia Keys
William Morris Agency
One William Morris Place
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
US

If you want to read more, below is the full text of an Associated Press story and a Reuters story about keys dropping the sponsorship:

 

Alicia Keys snubs out cigarette branding from gig<font size="2"><font face="Arial">

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Philip Morris International has pulled down billboards and posters promoting an Alicia Keys concert Thursday in Indonesia's capital after the singer protested the cigarette company's sponsorship.

The logo and slogans of A Mild cigarettes, produced by a Philip Morris affiliate, featured prominently in promotional materials for the concert.

The Washington-based Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids anti-smoking organization initially drew Keys' attention to the company's association with the show.

In a letter released by her record company, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, she said she had asked the company to stop the branding.

"I am an unyielding advocate for the well-being of children around the world and do not condone or endorse smoking," she said.

Philip Morris International did not say whether it was demanding its money back, nor reveal how much it had paid to sponsor the event.

"Whether tobacco sponsorship of music events leads to youth smoking is a matter of serious debate," the company said in a statement received Thursday. "Having considered the facts in this specific instance, we have decided to withdraw all branding associated with this concert."

More than 30 percent of Indonesia's 220 million people smoke, making it the fifth-largest tobacco market in the world, according to the World Health Organization.

In the United States, Philip Morris USA and other major tobacco companies are prohibited from sponsorships of concerts, but there are no such regulations in Indonesia. The affiliate, HM Sampoerna, regularly sponsors sports events and pop concerts in Indonesia.

Philip Morris was not the sole sponsor of the concert, but the event is billed as an "A Mild Live Production," suggesting it is a major backer.

With health campaigns taking a toll on cigarette sales in the West, tobacco companies are focusing marketing campaigns on developing countries like Indonesia, behind China, the United States, Russia and Japan.
 
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Cigarettes out for Alicia Keys concert in Jakarta

JAKARTA (Reuters) - The Indonesian unit of Philip Morris International has pulled promotional material with cigarette branding for a concert it is sponsoring by R&B singer Alicia Keys after complaints from anti-smoking campaigners.

The Grammy Award-winning American singer is due to perform in the Indonesian capital Jakarta later on Thursday as part of her "As I Am" world tour, promoting her chart-topping album of the same title.

"We respect those who are concerned and disagree" with the firm's sponsorship, said Niken Rachmad, a spokeswoman for Indonesia's second-biggest cigarette maker, PT Hanjaya Mandala Sampoerna Tbk.

Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids sent letters to Keys and to Philip Morris Chief Executive Louis Camilleri requesting the withdrawal of the cigarette firm's sponsorship of the concert.

"Approximately 35 percent of the population smokes, and an estimated 200,000 deaths per year in Indonesia are caused by tobacco-related illness," Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids said in its letter to the New York-born singer, which can be seen here

The group said it was particularly concerned because "an estimated 78 percent of current Indonesian smokers started before the age of 19".

Cigarettes in Indonesia, the world's fifth-largest tobacco market, are among the cheapest in the world, priced at around $1 (50 pence) a pack.

The $8-billion tobacco industry also plays an important economic role, with tax on cigarettes accounting for about 10 percent of government income in the past, while the sector provides millions of jobs.

As a result, Indonesia is reluctant to sign the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), aimed at cutting cigarette consumption, while bans on smoking in public areas are rarely enforced.

Sampoerna is a subsidiary of Altria Group Inc's Philip Morris, the largest cigarette-maker in the United States.

(Reporting by Evelyn Djuwidja and Tyagita Silka; Editing by Ed Davies)
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