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Gold Flake

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For the American snack food brand, see Golden Flake.
Gold Flake
An old British pack of Gold Flake cigarettes.
Product typeCigarette
Produced byITC Limited (India only), Imperial Tobacco (outside of India)
CountryUnited Kingdom
Introduced1878; 146 years ago (1878)
MarketsSee Markets
Previous ownersW.D. & H.O. Wills
Tagline"For the gracious people", "Celebrate the feeling"
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gold Flake (cigarette).

Brand overview

Gold Flake is a classic Indian brand that has been in the market for over a century. [1] Starting off as a cigarette with a heritage, this brand has many variants that across price points.

It is sold in various varieties, including Gold Flake Kings (84 mm), Gold Flake Kings Lights (84mm), Gold Flake and Gold Flake Lights. This brand is owned, manufactured and marketed by ITC Limited. [2]


History

Gold Flake was originally launched in 1878 by Stephen Mitchell & Son, a small tobacco firm located in Glasgow, Scotland, which was acquired bythe Bristol company of W.D. & H.O. Wills in 1901, shortly before they became a founding company of the Imperial Tobacco. The Mitchell name and their sovereign trade mark was used on Gold Flake cigarettes sold in the United Kingdom and Europe, while Wills' name and trade mark appeared on Gold Flake cigarettes sold through the rest of the world.[3][4] It was the leading brand of the second-class in the United Kingdom in the 1890s, followed by Woodbine.[5] Goldflake was neither a brand nor a process of manufacturing cigarettes. The word "goldflake" refers to cigarettes made using "bright rich golden tobacco". After 1878, the biggest change in the brand was in 1971 with the introduction of Gold Flake Kings, followed up with the launch of Gold Flake Kings Lights in 1999.[6][7]

ITC Limited launched Gold Flake in India in the 1960s. The source of the positioning of Gold Flake can be traced back to its early days. In the 1970s, India was a country of the genteel rich. People aspired to be honorable and genteel. The lifestyle of the upper class was what the customers aspired for.[8][9]

The initial ads positioned the cigarette as a companion. It targeted adult, male SEC A category smokers. It was meant to be a cigarette for the elite and the rich – the gracious people of India. It did not differentiate itself specifically from other brands. Advertising emphasized this comparison to gold. The slogan "For the gracious people" summed up the core of the brand.

After the introduction of lights as a category, the brand also introduced the positioning of Honeydew Smooth – giving the brand a recognizable differentiator, this positioning was backed by the dew drop symbol. With smoothness being the biggest claim the brand used symbols like the silk scarf, feather, paint brushe, violin, marble vase, hourglass and seashell as visuals to reiterate and associate back with smoothness.[10]

In December 2014, a study showed that Gold Flake cigarettes are the second most smoked brand in India, followed by Wills Classic. Classic Mild is the most smoked cigarette (18.6%), followed by Gold Flake Kings and Gold Flake Light (17.9% and 13.4% respectively). Godfrey Phillips is the second most preferred company with 14% of the people smoking its products i.e. Marlboro (~13%) and Four Square (1%).[11]

In April 2016, Golden Tobacco Ltd., one of the country's oldest tobacco product manufacturers, had become the first to begin implementing the Centre's order to have 85% of cigarette packets bear pictorial warnings. The packs of two of the company's several several brands – Panama and Gold Flake Golden – bearing April 2016 as the manufacture date will have these pictorial warnings on both sides. The 85% pictorial warning rule applies to packaging of cigarettes, beedis and non-smoking tobacco. The ministry had introduced the new rule in October 2014. However, the tobacco lobby had strongly opposed the decision. Several Indian tobacco product companies decided to stop production on April 1. The Tobacco Institute of India, whose members account for 98% of cigarette manufactured in India, had said the move will result in an estimated daily loss of Rs 350 crore in the tobacco industry’s turnover in India.[12][13]

Controversy

John Terry and picture warnings

In January 2012, an image of English football player John Terry was used and appeared on Gold Flake packs of cigarettes.

It was used as a picture warning to show the dangers of smoking by showing a tumor and underneath the words "Smoking Kills" appeared. "It would seem that the picture is of him and he has not posed for anything like this." said Keith Cousins of the Elite Management agency. "We don't know where the image is taken from, but he has not given his consent for this." he said. "We have consulted solicitors in London and India to investigate the matter and take appropriate action."

The image was produced by the Directorate of Visual Publicity, whose additional director general, KS Dhatwalia, said it is "not clear" why the image had been used. "We sent the creative to the health ministry and they then cleared it and circulated it." he said. "But how Terry's picture got to be used is not clear". Nor is it clear why they used that particular image, which shows a posturing man, oozing virility, rather than somebody whose insides have been ravaged by tobacco. Surely the cheap symbolism of Terry weeping in the rain after the 2008 Championship League final or wheezing in the slipstream of Robin van Persie earlier this season would have been more appropriate. Another official from the Directorate later told Reuters that the advert had "nothing do with John Terry. It was purely a piece of artistic imagination and I don't know why an issue is being created".[14]

In September 2017, a picture of John Terry was once again used as a picture warning on Gold Flake cigarettes.

Terry had posted a story on Instagram expressing his frustration with Indian brand Gold Flake for 'using' his image on their cigarette packets along with the 'Smoking Kills' warning. He had taken legal course against the company back in 2012 when he first spotted it. His representatives had said then that he had never given his consent for his image to be used on the packets. "Disgusting from this company Gold Flake using my image on their cigarettes. I hate smoking !!!" read the former England captain’s message on the story that had the photo of a cigarette packet.

According to a 2012 Guardian report, the image was produced by the Directorate of Visual Publicity (DVP). "We sent the creative to the health ministry and they then cleared it and circulated it. But how Terry’s picture got to be used is not clear". KS Dhatwalia, the additional general of DVP, is quoted saying.[15][16][17][18]

Marketing

Many poster advertisements have been made for Gold Flake cigarettes, especially in India.[19][20][21]

In the early 1900s, two characters by the names of "Mr Gold" and "Mr Flake" were introduced to promote the Gold Flake brand in the United Kingdom. The characters were used for about 30 years and were popular, but it did not help the sales of the brand and Gold Flake was discontinued for a short period of time.[5][22][23]

Markets

Gold Flake is mainly sold in India, but also was or still is sold in Canada, Jamaica, Ireland, United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Egypt, South Africa, Palestine, Nepal, Pakistan and Malaysia.[3][4][24]

Products

The brand has many variations, including Gold Flake Kings (84mm) and Gold Flake Kings Lights (84mm)[25] available at different prices and is in the Top 10 best brands in India.[26].

As of 2013, Gold Flake is targeting the youth smokers. It extended beyond the SEC A category to the SEC B as well. The product did not boast any USP. It still differentiated itself on the purity and quality of its experience. The brand stood for a celebratory attitude. "Celebrate the feeling" was the new message. This was simply an extension of the previous message "For the gracious people". ITC has also launched its smallest size which is of 64 mm and costs 100 Rupee for a 10-pack of cigarettes.[27]

Sponsorship

Gold Flake was the main sponsor of the Gold Flake Open tennis tournament from 1997 until 2001. It was an ATP tennis tournament held in Chennai, India.[28][29] The tournament is now known as the Maharashtra Open. The tournament was held from April 6 to April 13. The event has attracted some of the best names in the tennis circuit since its inception and the number of repeat players bears testament to the popularity of the event.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Top 10 best brands in India with price". World Blaze.
  2. ^ "Company History". Money Control.
  3. ^ a b "BrandGold Flake - Cigarettes Pedia". Cigarettespedia.com. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Gold Flake". Zigsam.at. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  5. ^ a b Alford, B. W. E. (5 November 2013). "W.D. & H.O. Wills and the development of the UK tobacco Industry: 1786-1965". Routledge. Retrieved 28 January 2018 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ "Top 10 Best Cigarette Brands". List Crux.
  7. ^ "Best Cigarette Brands in India". Trendingtopmost.com. 26 April 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference auto1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "Indian Cigarette Vintage Ads". 8ate.blogspot.com. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  10. ^ "Dew Drop Pivotal to India's Goldflake campaign". Adage.com.
  11. ^ "13 things you may not know about Indian smokers". Frstpost.com. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  12. ^ "Golden Tobacco Ltd begins implementing 85% pictorial warning rule on its cigarette packs". Scroll.in. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  13. ^ Balachandran, Manu. "For the first time, an Indian cigarette brand will cover its packets with bigger health warnings". Qz.com. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  14. ^ Smyth, Rob (3 January 2012). "John Terry's image appears as part of anti-smoking campaign in India". the Guardian. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  15. ^ "Footballer John Terry is 'disgusted' with Gold Flake for 'using' his image on cigarette packets, again!". Indianexpress.com. 22 September 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  16. ^ "English footballer John Terry 'disgusted' with Gold Flake for using his image on cigarette packets". Newindianexpress.com. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  17. ^ "John Terry left fuming after Gold Flake use his face on cigarette packaging". Thesun.co.uk. 21 September 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  18. ^ "John Terry still furious with cigarette company for using his image". Joe.co.uk. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  19. ^ "Gold Flake Cigarettes Stock Photos & Gold Flake Cigarettes Stock Images". Alamy.com. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  20. ^ "My GF". Jeartranjan.com. 26 July 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  21. ^ "Indian Cigarette Ads from 1800s to 2000s". Cuttingthechai.wordpress.com. 7 June 2007. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  22. ^ "Gold Flake - Adverts Tobacciana & Smoking - Gunns Gallery". Gunns Gallery. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  23. ^ "Stock Photo - 1927 UK Magazine Gold Flake Cigarette Advert". Alamy.com. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  24. ^ "Brands". Cigarety.by. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  25. ^ "ITC Launches New Cigarette Variant". NDTV Profit. September 18, 2014.
  26. ^ "Top 10 best brands in India with price". World Blaze.
  27. ^ "ITC Launches New Cigarette Variant". NDTV Profit.
  28. ^ [1] [dead link]
  29. ^ [2] [dead link]
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