Bradley Adviser Is Linked to Tobacco Ads

Alex Kroll, the head of Mr. [Bill] Bradley's advertising team, had extensive contacts with the tobacco industry when he was chief executive of Young & Rubicam, the Madison Avenue agency. During Mr. Kroll's tenure, Young & Rubicam handled the account that was responsible for the Joe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe New York times
Main Author RICHARD L. BERKE and JAMES DAO
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York, N.Y New York Times Company 17.11.1999
EditionLate Edition (East Coast)
Subjects
Advisors
Bradley, Bill
Gore, Albert Jr
Kroll, Alexander
Political advertising
Political campaigns
Presidential elections
Tobacco industry
WASHINGTON, Nov. 16
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Summary:Alex Kroll, the head of Mr. [Bill] Bradley's advertising team, had extensive contacts with the tobacco industry when he was chief executive of Young & Rubicam, the Madison Avenue agency. During Mr. Kroll's tenure, Young & Rubicam handled the account that was responsible for the Joe Camel commercials that marketed cigarettes to young adults. While there are many documents linking Mr. Kroll to the tobacco industry, the degree of his relationship is not clear. In a letter to Mr. Kroll in 1987, E. A. Horrigan Jr., then the vice chairman of RJR Nabisco Holdings, then the parent company of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco at the time, thanked Mr. Kroll ''for agreeing to take time out of your busy schedule to meet with me to discuss the unprecedented assault on tobacco advertising.'' And an internal RJR memorandum in 1991 showed that executives of the tobacco company viewed Mr. Kroll as an official to turn to to defend the Joe Camel account. The memorandum specifically suggested that Mr. Kroll be given talking points to respond to criticism of the campaign, which used cartoon renderings of a camel to sell the Camel brand of cigarettes.
ISSN:0362-4331