Use Of Joe Camel Ads In U.S. `Mortifies' Figure's Creator

The British artist who created the tremendously successful Joe Camel caricature says he is "mortified" that the advertising campaign appears to have enticed youths into smoking, and he would stop the ad campaign if he could.

"On one level it's flattering that the character has been effective," Nicholas Price said. "But on a more personal level, because of the way it was used, I am mortified."

Price last year settled - for an undisclosed amount - a $450 million trademark lawsuit against R.J. Reynolds that claimed the tobacco company had not fully paid him for use of the illustration in Camel cigarette ads.

Anti-smoking activists say the suave caricature, which is variously depicted with sunglasses, jazz instruments and hip clothing, is especially appealing to youths and helps encourage children to smoke. The staff of the Federal Trade Commission has recommended a ban on the ads, which the commissioners are considering.

R.J. Reynolds has vehemently argued against the claims, saying the ads are not aimed at youths but at getting adults to switch brands.

Price, who has seven children and who is working on a new Hammond children's atlas with illustrations of local wildlife and people throughout the world, created the funky camel in 1974 for use in Lui, a Penthouse-like magazine.

The drawing proved to be much more popular than the dour-looking dromedary that had adorned Camel packs since 1913.

"Children weren't on my mind and they certainly weren't a target," Price, 50, said. "I gave the camel sort of a twinkle in the eye, and sort of a conspiratorial expression to say, `I know what you're thinking.' "

The caricature made its debut in the United States in 1988.

Gary Black, an analyst at the securities firm Sanford C. Bernstein, said that the Joe Camel ad campaign helped make Camel, whose sales rose 5 percent last year, one of only two premium brands to grow in 1992. Last year, 23 percent of Camel smokers were 25 and younger, up from 18 percent in 1988, according to a survey by Simmons Market Research Bureau. And 78 percent were under 50, up from 67 percent.

Price had smoked since he was 12 but stopped 15 years ago. He says he never smoked Camels. "I find them very smelly," he said.