Indie Rock Universe's Camel Controversy
We realize not that many people read Rolling Stone these days, so maybe you've missed the hullabaloo entirely: In the November issue of the magazine, Camel Cigarettes ran an advertorial nine-page insert titled "The Indie Rock Universe," obviously targeting indie folk. Before entering the actual meat of the campaign, there's this illustrated high-school-kid-looking notebook with various scribbles portraying an "Indie Rock Universe" as "an alternate dimension where everyone wears black Converse." Um, what year is this again?
Shoe choice aside, once you went past that page, you were given an accordion-style map pullout of a cartoon-y outer space realm spotted with stars and orbs and places like "Animal Planet," where Grizzly Bear, Band Of Horses, Dr. Dog, Cat Power, Animal Collective, etc, cavort. (Slyly, the wolf bands get their own planet, "Lupus Major.")
Some other hot spots are a tad more random, e.g. "Angry Red Planet," which comes with a "fight the power!" tag and includes Against Me!, M.I.A. Ted Leo, Xiu Xiu, and Le Tigre, among others. Other stops on the tour: Northwesteroids, Champagne Supernovas, The Brooklyn Beltway (which is where the National and... the Strokes and the Rogers Sisters? pop up), Planet Twee, Lost In Bass, Spazmodica (go Parts & Labor!), and Second Album Black Hole (poor Bloc Party). Only one musician gets her own planet: Joanna Newsom's listed as "Unidentified Flying Object." Makes sense. A sample:
Catch the rest of the scans at Terminal Boredom or with musical accompaniment at the Stone itself.
It's all fairly ridiculous and embarrassing, but turns out it's also illegal: Remember that whole rule about not using cartoons to sell cigs? Guess Camel forget, too. The nitty and the gritty post jump.
Via The Daily Swarm:
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. said today that it has voluntarily halted promotions for a Camel marketing campaign aimed at adult listeners of independent rock music.Accompanying the print ad was a website (as of now, taken down) and sponsorship at a series of shows, as part of its "free range music" and "signature sound. signature blends" sloganeering. Ha ha.The decision comes a day after Reynolds was sued by nine state attorneys general over ads for Camel cigarettes that recently ran in Rolling Stone magazine.
The attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington accused Reynolds of violating the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement between 46 states and tobacco manufacturers because a nine-page pullout in the Nov. 15 issue sponsored by Reynolds contained cartoon images.
Other states are expected to file separate lawsuits. The company could face a fine exceeding $100 million for violating the cartoon ban, according to Tom Corbett, the attorney general for Pennsylvania.
Also -- and this is important to note -- the bands listed in "The Indie Rock Unverse" weren't asked permission to have their names associated with the cancer sticks. You can see the complete list of musicians Camel co-opted over at the Swarm," along with details about the possibility of bands bringing class action suits against Joe Camel and friends. (Man, would love to be there for that day in court! Wonder if they'd all jam?) If you're in one of the bands who's been wrongly lumped into this ridiculousness, we'd be interested to know your thoughts, so please do drop a line in the comments or via tips@stereogum.com.
In the end, the one shining light to emerge from the debacle is a brief comment by one brilliant Swarm reader: "Has Camel posted their year end list yet?" Right, gold star for that one in our own little indie rock universe.
Posted at 11:32 AM
I'm a Newport™ 100 kid - been tryin' to kick it.
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Jokamel. Gotta get them all!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvyS1CHpmmc
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I was just at a show last weekend where Camel was whoring their death sticks all over the venue. They had cardboard displays all over the stages, lights projecting the Camel logo everywhere...it was a nauseating display of overkill.
That was part of the "signature sounds, signature blends" campaign. Gag.
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And that this story *again* has Bland of Horses name associated with it is just multiple nails in thee coffin [coughin'].
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Okay, hold up. What exactly about your own "little indie rock universe" doesn't immediately lend itself to cornball puns, obsessive categorization, fetishization of teenage awkwardness and (yes, Of Montreal fans) unhealthy product tie-ins? We're surprised this whole thing didn't happen a lot sooner.
For the record, we wear black Converse sneakers. You?
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Oh man! You actually got me all excited with "Champaign Supernovas." You had me thinking that bands like Hum, Poster Children, Braid and Headlights were gonna get their own little planet to rock out on and be merry. But alas, you spelled it wrong, and it's made up of the latest wave of Britrock. Boo.
Please note: I'm a U of Illinois grad and a complete dork.
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@ Jeff, sorry to get your hopes up like that. Typo is fixed. I hear you on Braid, et al, but especially Poster Children. Man did I love Flower Plower and Daisychain Reaction back in the day (and such a great great live band). Hadn't thought about them in ages... thanks for the reminder!
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and when an alcohol company does the same thing with hip-hop/r&b would anyone even raise an eyebrow?
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I was just thinking of Hum when I saw that Cadillac commercial.
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yeah, i was at a show in raleigh where they mixed the white rabbits/french kicks with sleazily dressed snowflakes and tacky cardboard signs for SNUS.
either way, turkish royals are still my pick.
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Whoever was stupid enough to use the bands' names in an ad without permission is an idiot and should be fired.
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reprehensible though it may be someones interns are doing a good job, thats a great mix. If only Camel had spoken to some artists we could have a nice mix in the works and a cigarette company could make some money without a product that reads "THIS WILL KILL YOU"
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Especially nice that they called Peter and the Wolf "Peter and the Wolves"
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Putting aside the Camel references, what I saw at Rolling Stone was kind of clever-a spinoff of what Spy Magazine used to do with its subject matter.
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I have a beta version of this program that lets you download your own organic blend of tobacco so you can roll yr own - at *no charge* of course.
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You guys see this? Among other things, it says rolling stone did the content (apparently without any intervention on either the design or curation) and Camel just sponsored the gatefold -- a fairly standard practice since those things are REALLY expensive.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/26/business/media/26camel.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
I'm sort of most insulted by the fact that rolling stone only covers music anymore when it's paid for by someone else. Also, any else notice antony under "twee". Yowza...
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What the hell is up with that twee section? And why are there like a million dance planets? Last question, why the fuck is shitty mall emo on there?
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nothing says indie music like the old double cross-over planet of studded belts. the plain white t's are my favorite indie band
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Tis' a good ad
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I like that it says Spoon are from the Northwest & The New Pornographers are from Brooklyn....
What was Google broken that day ?
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They read Britt moved to Portland I guess. It's all so very fucking wrong.
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http://www.benjaminmarra.com/pages/illustrations.html
someone get in touch with that fella - he did the scribbles.
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Heh. Nice reference from the State in that top pic.
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At least they've finally got their demographic right. No scene smokes more cigarettes than the indie scene.
And what are you guys even talking about with converse? Unless that was some sort of tongue-in-cheek joke that everyone now wears RED chucks, you're way off base. Unfortunately.
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Britt said at the Seattle show back in September that he's trying to relocate the entire band to the Pacific NW. Rob Pope lives in Seattle.
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Converse are pretty much the least Indie thing I can think of.
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isn't spoon from austin, tx? why is it with the northwesteroids?
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...Sigur Ros should not be considered indie.
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where's that lil' Asteroid® spacecraft when we need it!?
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Camel was the one that had the free Dinosaur Jr show at Webster Hall. I was willing to look past the whole 'Big Tobacco' thing for a gig.
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it sure looks like it was an insert paid by Camel, not "sponsored by", if you get my point. It wasn't an article at all, just a way to make more bucks, like Camel executives walked into RS offices and said "we need to place an eye catching ad in your mag, you design it". Rolling Stones has always been a mayor eye rolling thing for me.
It's embarrassing, I should say.
P.S.: I hate converse.
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About a year ago, I went to a "free" Camel-sponsored Spoon show that was so over-the-top with branding I'm surprised they didn't have dancing boxes of cigs on the stage. When the band took the stage, they even turned on fog machines from the ceiling to give the illusion that everyone had suddenly lit up...
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Like, dude, converse are totally not indie blah blah blah. I only wear hand-sewn hemp shoes from non-corporate urban boutiques.
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they obviously didn't ask A Silver Mt. Zion because they didn't even get the name right.
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