Java Rockin Land, el mayor evento musical de Indonesia, se celebrará en Yakarta del 22-24 julio de 2011 y estará patrocinado por la marca de de cigarrillos Garam Gudang.
El cartel incluye los grupos musicales 30 Seconds to Mars, Neon Trees, Good Charlotte y Ed Kowalczyk (EE.UU.), The Cranberries (Irlanda), Happy Mondays y Blood Red Shoes (Reino Unido), Franco (Filipinas) y Dirt Radicals (Australia).
A estas bandas no se les permitiría llevar a cabo bajo el patrocinio del tabaco en sus propios países. La mayoría de los gobiernos reconocen la efectividad mortal de este tipo de publicidad al atraer a los jóvenes a fumar y lo han prohibido. No obstante Indonesia es uno de los pocos países en el mundo que no ha firmado el Convenio Marco de la OMS para el Control del Tabaquismo.
La conciencia del peligro del tabaco es baja y las compañías de cigarrillos tienen un campo abierto de juego cuando se trata de marketing, publicidad y patrocinio - incluso la entrega de muestras gratuitas a los eventos. Los músicos en este caso se convertirán en embajadores de la marca de la compañía de cigarrillos. Hay una razón por la cual la industria tabacalera invierte millones de dólares en este tipo de patrocinio: funciona.
Los músicos tienen la capacidad de hacer frente a las tácticas de marketing de la industria tabacalera: Maroon 5, la ex ganadora de American Idol Kelly Clarkson y Alicia Keys se negaron a actuar en Indonesia a menos que el patrocinio y el marketing de las marcas de tabaco se retiraran.
Para firmar esta petición
Drop Tobacco Sponsorship in Indonesia
Indonesia’s largest and highest profile music event Java Rockin’ Land will be held at Jakarta’s Ancol Beach from 22 to 24 July 2011. Sponsored by cigarette company Gudang Garam, the line-up includes 30 Seconds to Mars, Neon Trees, Good Charlotte and Ed Kowalczyk (USA), The Cranberries (Ireland), Happy Mondays and Blood Red Shoes (UK), Franco (Philippines) and The Dirt Radicals (Australia).
Cigarettes kill more people worldwide than alcohol, AIDS, car accidents, illegal drugs, murders and suicides combined. Indonesia has over 70 million smokers, and smoking kills 200,000 Indonesians every year – tens of thousands more than were killed in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Many of the artists performing at Java Rockin’ Land have given their support to relief for victims of natural disasters, support for critically ill children and children living in poverty, efforts to fight cancer and AIDS, and environmental causes. Yet by performing at a tobacco-sponsored festival in Indonesia they will be helping to sell cigarettes to young people – a product that leads to death, disability and hardship, in addition to causing environmental damage.
These bands would not be allowed to perform under tobacco sponsorship in their own countries. Most governments recognize the deadly effectiveness of such advertising in enticing young people to smoke and have banned it. Not Indonesia. It is one of the few countries in the world that has not signed the WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Awareness of the dangers of smoking is low, and cigarette companies have an open playing field when it comes to marketing, advertising and sponsorship - even handing out free samples at events. The musicians at this event will essentially become brand ambassadors for the cigarette company. There’s a reason why tobacco industry shells out millions of dollars for this type of sponsorship – it works.
Musicians do have the ability to stand up to the tobacco industry's marketing tactics. In February 2011, Maroon 5 instructed promoters to cease the use of a cigarette brand in the promotion of their Jakarta concert. In April 2010, former American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson removed tobacco advertising and sponsorship from her Jakarta concert. Similarly, Alicia Keys refused to play her 2008 Indonesian tour unless sponsorship and marketing from Phillip Morris’ Sampoerna brand was halted.
Ask 30 Seconds to Mars, Neon Trees, Good Charlotte, Ed Kowalzcyk, The Cranberries, The Happy Mondays, Blood Red Shoes, Franco and The Dirt Radicals to use the same power to insist tobacco branding be removed from this festival or refuse to perform. Their fans deserve memories of a great concert, not the legacy of a deadly addiction.
