NAAAPI "Swisher Ain't Sweet" Campaign Alters Marketing Strategy Philadelphia, PA - The National Association of African Americans for Positive Imagery (NAAAPI), through its "Swisher Ain't Sweet" campaign, has altered the marketing strategy of little menthol cigars in a major African American magazine. NAAAPI has not seen the advertising in other media outlets or magazines.

NAAAPI launched the national campaign in November 2001 in response to the advertising for Swisher Sweet little cigars in menthol in JET magazine. The October 15, 2001 and November 26, 2001 issues in which the menthol ads were placed included cover stories on entertainers who are popular with youth. The January 28, 2002 issue advertised the little cigars in regular flavor.

"This campaign has successfully altered the strategy of the advertising of this product as evidenced by the way the tobacco industry advertised this product before and after the campaign was launched", said Reverend Jesse W. Brown, Jr., Executive Director of the National Association of African Americans for Positive Imagery. "The tobacco industry continues to use established media outlets of the African American community for the target marketing of menthol tobacco products to African Americans, particularly to its youth. We are pleased to see that for now we have stopped swisher sweets from becoming an icon for Black youth", said Rev. Brown.

The National Association of African Americans for Positive Imagery (NAAAPI) formed in 1991 as a result of the successful withdrawal of Uptown cigarette that was test marketed in Philadelphia in 1990. Since that time, NAAAPI has addressed the excessive promotion and target marketing of tobacco and alcohol products in urban communities throughout the United States. Grass-roots mobilization campaigns led by NAAAPI have resulted in the removal of other tobacco and alcohol products from the consumer market such as "X" cigarette and PowerMaster malt liquor. Most recently, NAAAPI helped to spearhead the national "Stop Liquor Ads on NBC" campaign which resulted in the reversal of NBC 's decision to air hard liquor ads on television.