Getting to Know-More

Tobacco giant Philip Morris (PMI) has launched a website for adult smokers and retailers in the UK.

Know-More invites you to "have your say ... and make a difference today". Funnily enough it reminds me of an initiative I was involved in several years ago.

Smokers' Voice was going to be an online community of adult smokers. Tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of smokers would register. Well, that was the idea.

A significant sum of money was spent developing a website that was due to launch on July 1, 2007, the day the smoking ban was introduced in England.

We worked on it for six months and it was almost ready to go live. Someone, somewhere, then decided it wasn't such a great idea after all and pulled the plug.

A few months later I was invited to be a consultant on another project, Smokers Life.

The entrepreneur behind it worked for an investment bank. He took me to lunch at a famous restaurant in Mayfair and outlined his plans.

Unlike Smokers Voice, Smokers Life was unashamedly commercial. It was described as a "lifestyle portal for smokers".

The key products were insurance and dating.

It would feature the "hottest venues" and a "sophisticated" dating service for smokers.

It would also offer competitive insurance packages for smokers.

The website, I was told, would be launched in the UK first. France, Germany and Spain would follow within a year.

I was sceptical but I'm sceptical about most things.

A few weeks later he introduced me to the design team. They told me how much it was going to cost. It was a lot of money.

Our third and final meeting took place in a tiny office near Oxford Street. There was barely room to chew on a cigar.

I can't remember what was discussed but I sensed the project was grinding to a halt. From that day to this I've heard nothing more.

What I'm trying to say is, websites dedicated to the smoking community are nothing new. Nor is PMI the first tobacco company to enter this arena.

Those that have made it to launch include Smokers Welcome and, more recently, Smoking Allowed.

Now there's Know-More.

I'll reserve judgement until it's had a chance to find its feet. In the meantime, like every other smoker-friendly initiative, I wish it well.

Below: an early design for Smokers Voice and the Smokers Life logo

Comments

[Smoking Hot]

Alas, at least 7 years too late