Why are branded cigarettes in streaming media? A case study of Netflix's Stranger Things
Peter Kovacs1, Ruth E Malone2, Pamela M Ling3,4
1Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA peter.kovacs@ucsf.edu.
Background:
Despite the 1998 ban on paid product placement by the tobacco industry, branded tobacco products continue to appear in media.
Methods:
Using the popular streaming series Stranger Things as a case study, this paper identifies potential motivations of content producers for including branded cigarettes in their work by analysing how the products function in the series.
Results:
These include enhancing verisimilitude, character development and serving as action props to anchor and advance a narrative.
Conclusions:
Since the use of branded tobacco products appears to be firmly entrenched in Hollywood as a storytelling device, policymakers should consider mitigating the negative effects of repeated tobacco depictions on young people by requiring advisory warnings and or promotion of cessation resources before and after movies or series episodes that depict tobacco use. In addition, raising critical public awareness of the issue may encourage content creators to reconsider the necessity of tobacco depictions and explore more creative alternative narrative-advancing devices rather than reifying smoking behaviour.
More Related Videos
07:35How Virtual Celebrity Characteristics Drive Purchase Intention: Testing the Stimulus-Organism-Response Framework with Structural Equation Modeling
Published on: March 3, 2026
10:44Comparing the Effects of Electronic Cigarette Vapor and Cigarette Smoke in a Novel In Vivo Exposure System
Published on: May 24, 2017
Related Concept Videos
Stimulants
Cocaine can be administered via snorting, injection, or smoking. It primarily functions by blocking the reuptake of dopamine, resulting in a euphoric high characterized by an intense sensation of happiness and...
Social Proof
Bystander Effect
The Sense of Self: Reflected Self-Appraisal and Social Comparison
Framing Effects
Routes of Persuasion
