Will The 'World’s Ugliest Color' Affect Tobacco Packaging?

“Plain packaging” may sound contrary to what we should be striving for in this industry, but for some tobacco package printers, pretty soon there may be no choice.

In an effort to curb tobacco purchases, the Australian government began implementing Pantone 448 C (also known as “Opaque Couché”) as the primary color on cigarette boxes in 2012. For those of you who aren’t graphic designers by trade, the color has been called the ugliest color in the world by researchers. The color teeters between an earthy brown and a queasy green. It even has its own Twitter account — although it hasn’t been updated in quite some time.

Pantone 448 C has been called "The World's Ugliest Color."

But could a color really deter cigarette sales? Apparently so. The Guardian reports that cigarette sales in Australia have indeed fallen since the packaging took on a less-than-appealing color.

If the world's ugliest color doesn't do the trick, advocates are hoping that the newly launched effort from WHO called "Get Ready for Plain Packaging" will. The Hill recently reported that the campaign was designed to add "more effective health warnings on tobacco products around the world." The argument being that warning labels work.

Warnings, such as this one have been added to cigarette boxes in some countries.
Via Flickr user Melanie Tata

Countries across the globe have been responding to the effort to reduce cigarette sales by adopting their own variations of deterrents on cigarette packaging — everything from simple text warnings to gruesome pictures associated with smoking (although graphic warnings have been proven to be more effective than text-based warnings — for obvious reasons).

In 2012, U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon ruled that graphic images proposed by the FDA to be included on cigarette packaging violated First Amendment rights. He continued by stating that the addition of graphic labels would cause the tobacco companies to "suffer irreparable harm."

In 2013, USA Today reported that more than 40 countries or jurisdictions had adopted similar packaging to that which was proposed by the FDA in the U.S., and that 25% of smokers said that "the warnings led them to consider quitting."

With tight amendment rights and intellectual property laws, it's unclear if graphic warnings will ever be passed in the U.S.

How Will It Affect Printing?

As CNN reports, lawmakers in the U.K. have taken a page out of the Land Down Under’s book and have decided to use the same color on cigarette packaging. Market researchers have found that respondents typically associate the color with the following words: dirty, tar and death.

New Zealand and Canada also just recently announced plans to adopt plain packaging and it wouldn't be surprising to see more countries following suit in the coming months/years.

With an uptick in adoption of plain packaging, companies dedicated to developing and printing cigarette packaging may see a decrease in business. A decrease in sales means a decrease in packaging (and packaging innovation).

As PrintWeek reports, the new packaging regulations — specifically in the U.K. — could have a substantial impact in printing.

“A lot of printing will be badly affected by the implementation of plain packaging. Plain packaging means standardised packaging doing away with branding and ID, having health warnings and an olive green background with a small font," Mike Ridgway of the Consumer Packaging Manufacturers Alliance said to PrintWeek. "It’s not just graphics, it’s the construction and the substrates. There’s no hot-foil stamping, no embossing, graining or anything that gives the pack any sort of particular graphical marketing characteristics.” 

Ridgway goes on to explain that he believes the regulations to be "excessive" from a "packaging and printing point of view" because it will affect so many different aspects of the tobacco packaging industry. He points to major substrate manufacturer API as one company in particular who has been "badly knocked" because of the plain packaging legislation.

PrintWeek reports that "Parkside, Amcor and Multi Packaging Solutions are among the packaging firms likely to be hit," with Amcor Tobacco Packaging President Jerzy Czubak specifically stating that the legislation "posed a 'real risk' to consumers."

As plain tobacco packaging catches on and more countries adopt legislation surrounding the issue, it sets a precedent that harmful and unhealthy products could have their packaging design possibilities impeded on. For example, PrintWeek reports that there are concerns in the industry that the plain packaging movement could work its way into alcoholic beverages and food with high-sugar content.

From PrintWeek:

Another fear is that the incoming rules will have a knock-on effect, in other countries and in terms of other sectors coming under the plain packaging microscope. 

Alcohol is the obvious contender but concerns, espoused by the anti plain-packaging fraternity at least, is that fatty and sugary foods could also be in the firing line, as a way to be seen to be doing something to appease the health lobby.

It would be hard to even begin to imagine the effects on the printing industry if alcohol were to come under the same scrutiny as cigarette packaging, since beer, wine and spirits labels feature some of the most intricate designs.

The Crack Down on Packaging

"Willie" the Kool Penguin.
Via Flickr user loppear

This isn't the first time the effects of cigarette packaging have come up in legislation. In 1997, the FTC targeted Camel cigarettes stating that it was marketing its product to minors. The complaint alleged that the cartoon character "Joe Camel" used to promote the brand was deliberately used to "increase its shrinking market share among young smokers," according to The New York Times. Although Camel wasn't the only brand that was seemingly marketing to a younger generation at the time (see this "cyber home" dedicated to Willie the Kool Penguin).

Only time will tell what the effects of plain packaging will be on the printing industry.

What are your thoughts on plain packaging? Will it be an effective deterrent of tobacco purchases? Or is it an unnecessary burden on the package printing industry?