This section provides an overview of how the tobacco industry has adapted its marketing strategies in response to Australia's comprehensive advertising bans. It maps the range of below-the-line promotional tactics that have emerged across digital media, corporate communications, entertainment, retail, packaging, and third-party channels, and directs readers to the subsequent sections where each is examined in detail.
Australia is a highly restricted marketing environment for tobacco—what the tobacco industry refers to as a ‘dark market’.1 As traditional ‘above-the-line’ forms of marketing, such as mass media advertising in print, on television, radio, posters/billboards and cinema, have been closed to the tobacco industry, companies have sought out loopholes in regulation as well as more novel ways of promoting their products—known as ‘below-the-line’ marketing methods. For historical examples of the tobacco industry circumventing Australia’s tobacco adverting regulations see Section 11.0. The main reasons that marketing of tobacco products has persisted, despite tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship (TAPS) bans, include: gaps in regulations; problems with the implementation of regulation; poor monitoring and enforcement; low compliance with regulation; and the development of novel approaches to marketing by the tobacco industry.
Several ‘below-the-line’ techniques for advertising, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco have been identified in Australia in the years following the introduction of the TAP Act, including:
Digital and Social Media
- Digital marketing across social media platforms, including transnational event promotion and branded corporate accounts (see Section 11.11.1)
- Use of social media influencers and celebrities to promote pro-tobacco content (see Section 11.11.1)
- Advertorials on digital news sites2 and likely optimisation of AI search engines to produce favourable tobacco brand summaries3
Corporate and CSR Promotion
- Corporate social responsibility (CSR) campaigns, rebranding initiatives, and commercial communications used as promotional vehicles (see Sections 11.11.2, 10A.6.4 and 10.11)
- Corporate websites and branded social media accounts (see Sections 11.11.2 and 10A.6.4)
Entertainment and Culture
- Product placement and depictions of smoking behaviour in film, television, streaming, music videos, video games, and live events (see Section 5.6)
Point-of-Sale and Retail
- Price board promotion at point-of-sale (see Section 11.9.5)
- Tobacco retailer density, including greater concentrations of stores near young people and in lower socioeconomic areas (see Section 11.9.6)
- Marketing directed at retailers and the tobacco trade supply chain (see Section 11.8)
Products and Packaging
- Packaging design including pack size, and variant descriptors (see InDepth 11A)
- Development and marketing of additional nicotine products, such as e-cigarettes and pouches (see Chapter 18)
Third-Party Marketing
- Sympathetic journalist relationships and favourable or misleading tobacco coverage in news media (see Section 10A.6)
- Lobbying of politicians and political advertising (see Section 10A.7)
For a background overview of Australia’s TAPS Act, and Australia’s obligations as a party member under The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) see Section 11.0. For information on Australia’s Commonwealth (national) legislation see Section 11.3, and Section 11.4 for State and territory legislation.
The material that follows in subsequent sections documents examples of TAPS and legislation aiming to further restrict it.
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References
1. Carter SM. Going below the line: creating transportable brands for Australia's dark market. Tobacco Control, 2003; 12(suppl. 3):iii87-iii94. Available from: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Going-below-the-line%3A-creating-transportable-brands-Carter/60dca24824827caaae8c3a26bc614ad2b3c85b55
2. Meade A. Philip Morris-sponsored articles in the Australian could breach tobacco advertising laws. The Guardian, 2020. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/nov/19/philip-morris-sponsored-articles-in-the-australian-could-breach-tobacco-advertising-laws
3. Ashton K. We asked Google AI about big tobacco. Its answer was missing some controversial history. ABC News, 2026. Available from: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-06-03/google-ai-overview-tobacco-companies/106731564