On Monday night, South Africa’s first e-cigarette ad was flighted in the first part of a campaign that will see Twisp ads on television, in cinemas and online.
“Twisp is aimed at adults and, as such, all adverts will appear in suitable programmes after the watershed period,” says the brand’s marketing director, Nathan Smith.
“E-cigarettes have been shown to be a healthier alternative to tobacco and this is about helping people who want to smoke to make a healthier choice. E-cigarettes contain nicotine but not tobacco and have been marketed as a safer alternative,” Smith said.
The commercial for Twisp will be the first on prime-time television to show someone using an e-cigarette or ‘vaping’ and the first to show an e-cigarette since the Tobacco Products Control Amendment Act of 1999 came into effect and banned cigarette advertising and sponsorship.
The ad is being flighted on a Pay-TV platform, on a national free-to-air channel and making broadcast history, Twisp is also hosting an online concept when for the first time in South Africa, the Twisp e-cigarette advert will stream online via the company website.
The launch advert features three upwardly-mobile South Africans experiencing the three new Twisp devices – the Aero, Solo and Edge– in three social scenes, with the closing credits of Taste Today Tomorrow.
Having received a variety of opinions regarding smoking – many supporting e-cigarettes while others argue that e-cigarettes could encourage smoking among young people, Smith said the brand would continue to encourage informative discussions around the benefits of e-cigarettes. He said they would continue to debate the restrictive regulations as suggested by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to prevent more people from being aware of e-cigarettes and using them as an alternative to smoking.
“Twisp prides itself on driving awareness and conversation regarding this lifestyle alternative. We are also delighted with the recent publication of a study by Public Health England (PHE) showing that using e-cigarettes can save lives and that the use of e-cigarettes is 95% safer than smoking tobacco. We fervently believe that our product leads to many people quitting smoking,” concluded Smith.
Twisp encourages the use of e-cigarettes as a safer, alternative to cigarettes as the e-cigarettes do not contain tar, smoke particulates or carbon monoxide, which are found in traditional cigarettes which are the leading causes of illnesses related to smoking. E-cigarette smokers also report experiencing fewer of the usual unpleasant side-effects of smoking, such as coughing, shortness of breath, smelly clothes and hair, stained teeth and nails.
