Lark Artist Pack series: Japanese cigarette branding

Written by: Michael Keferl on December 7, 2007 at 12:01 am | In Marketing & Ad Trends |

Far from encouraging the use of tobacco, our interest is purely in unusual and creative packaging design and promotions. So kids, smoking is bad for you, but if you’re going to do it you should at least get some with a cool box.

Looking to replicate the success of Lucky Strike’s creative re-branding in Japan, Lark is pushing new and creative packaging and collaborations to, obviously, pull in early-twenties smokers and establish a cool and hip image. They started recently with a new “Push Pack” that opens and closes automatically when you push from the bottom.

However, Lark is currently running the best tobacco campaign I’ve ever witnessed, and one that deserves the Only in Japan label more than anything. Lark’s new Artist Pack series is a collaboration with three Japanese designers, each contributing three separate pack and lighter designs to be sold exclusively in specific convenience stores.

Fashion design house Dress Camp produced our favorite design, with diamond graphics and a lion shaped, tail activated lighter that actually works quite well.

Musician/Artist Towa Tei (of Deee-Lite fame) put in the design for the green pack and lighter below.

Unfortunately, we haven’t seen any of these again since they first came out last week, and were unable to get ahold of the design from graphic artist Ryo Ono, but we found a picture online from this Japanese blog.

Can you imagine the backlash if an American brand, designer, or celebrity produced their own custom packs for Marlboro? They’d be forever tainted with the foul stench of smoke, and would likely endure the wrath and demagoguery of any TV pundit within range. Not so in Japan, at least not yet.

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Category: Marketing & Ad Trends
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