Cigarette advertising on subject matter

CrookedCartoon

CrookedCartoon

New Member
Hi,

Just a quick one. I've been commissioned with illustrating an F1 car from the 2000's to be sold as prints, however the car is covered in Marlboro advertisements, i'm just wondering what the legal implications of this is? As obviously (In the UK and Europe) cigarette marketing in print is prohibited and in many other countries.

It will simply be an art print and the 'cigarette' advertising is clearly marked on the car and the helmet of the driver, i've been told 2 different points of view, that I have to remove the cigarette branding from the car & helmet if I am to freely have these prints sold internationally, and also been told that because the advertisements are on a subject matter pre-cigarette advertising ban that it is perfectly legal, also that because they are art prints it can't be considered 'marketing'.

I am totally unsure where the law lies on this and I have to be crystal clear as the firm I am illustrating for can't risk any implications in the future because of it, but also it is pretty important to include the cigarette logos on the illustration as F1 cars are so heavily recognised for the advertisements on the body work & helmets.

Anyone have any idea on this?
Thanks.
 
First off, it's a bad idea to come a forum full of designers to get legal advice.

Go to a solicitor that specialises in advertising.

My initial thoughts are:
You're not advertising cigarettes
You're making a piece of history - it's historical, and accurate
You're not trying to sell cigarettes.
 
Ta for the advice, I understand that a forum is the worst place for legal advice, I was just hoping someone may have come across this problem before, especially with photography (cigarette billboards in photo prints being sold etc)

But my thoughts are similar to yours, but the UK is very strict about cigarettes in print.
Thanks.
 
Apart from anything else, surely it's down to the firm who is commissioning you to find out the ins and outs?
They, as the publisher, will be risking any implications, not you.
 
We will be selling the prints on their behalf, which is where the issue lies, not the actual digital image. It's to do with advertising cigarettes in print (which is illegal in the UK), as the digital image won't be used for anything. Also because they're not based in the UK it's something they don't actually know about, it's also something that's new territory for them (art prints) so they're not very helpful in that area, us as the 'manufacturers' of the print are left to navigate the legal issues unfortunately.

It's a nightmare as the prints will be sold internationally, so the law as to what can be considered 'marketing cigarettes' will change depending on the country, which I know seems to beg the need for some serious legal advice, I was just hoping that someone may have come across this issue before. We can't be the first firm to sell art prints that include a subject that has cigarette branding in!
 
In which case I feel for you then. All I can suggest is contact someone like the Advertising Standards Authority to be on the safe side.
 
But the purpose of the print is not to sell cigarettes. You're not advertising cigarettes. It's nothing to do with wanting people to buy cigarettes.

You're not making any claims about cigarettes you're not saying they're good for you or anything on those lines.

I really don't see it being an issue.

A quick call to a solicitor in the morning will tell you one way or the other. People are often fearful of having to pay a solicitors fee. But I've called and spoken to many solicitors for lengthy amount of times and they don't generally issue a fee unless they directly do something like physically write a letter or appear on your behalf somewhere etc.
 
I never finished reading your post. I see the issue now.

I'm on mobile and somehow skipped half the post with a slip of the finger.

However, if there's an issue with selling in different countries then that needs to be ironed out before agreeing to sell in different countries.
 
I'm not entirely sure of the legalities as they seen to have gone beyond common sense now.
(BTW. I'm not in favour of smoking or promoting it.)

Fact is, these are art prints of historical cars and it is not your or the company that is commissioning you's intention to sell cigarettes.
If you do a search on Ebay you can buy cigarette advertising with no problem at all in the UK.

That being said (which are only my own thoughts), try a search on model F1 cars.
I did a quick one and the subject seems to crop up a fair bit on forums and other sites.
It's probably the closest you'll get to what you're doing.

I did notice some model cars, like James Hunt's car where the tobacco logos had been removed.
 
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