On the last but one MBA course, participants were keen to emphasise the fact that England was not taking part in the European Championship finals (funny, nobody mentioned it on the last course after Germany’s poor showing). The critics liked the latest posters for Lucky Strike, rubbing in the English absence.

It certainly plays to the I for Interest in the AIDA model: by featuring an event in the news, you’ll get people noticing your ads.

Only there’s one slight confusion for me with this campaign: does this pack contain 16 cigarettes, or 17 (one of which is removed to create the joke…). In a market where price has become a bit of a headache for manufacturers, I don’t think it helps to confuse the audience.