BACKGROUND: Heated tobacco products (HTP) are
novel electronic devices that produce an aerosol by
heating modified tobacco. In July 2017, Philip Morris
launched a heated tobacco product, IQOS, on the
Czech market. The release of IQOS was promoted
by a massive marketing campaign using various
marketing channels. AIM: This paper presents an
analysis of the influencers’ posts promoting a heated
tobacco product (HTP), IQOS, produced by Philip
Morris, in the Czech Republic. METHODS: Critical
discourse analysis (CDA) was used to uncover the
hidden power relationships in both textual and visual
representations of IQOS in Instagram posts. We
analysed the posts of 22 Czech influencers identified
with the hashtags #IQOSambassador, #IQOSambasabor,
#IQOSlounge, #IQOSveVarech, and #mujIQOS, together
with associated pictures and videos on Instagram.
RESULTS: The hashtag #iqosambassador was used
internationally in 940 posts (as of May 16, 2019). Our
findings show subtle forms of persuasion that associate
the IQOS product with an aspirational, exclusive
lifestyle, healthy living, and a relaxed atmosphere
within a community of friends. Preliminary results also
show that influencers promoted IQOS to any and all
Instagram users (including children and non-smokers).
Covert advertising was indicated indirectly by the
use of hashtags (#notriskfree, #onlyforadults, and
#iqosambassador), which might be evidence that the
influencers were paid indirectly by a digital marketing
or PR agency. CONCLUSIONS: Czech celebrities and
influencers have been actively presenting IQOS in their
posts and videos since 2018 on Instagram. They present
IQOS as a gateway to an aspirational, healthy, attractive
and celebrity lifestyle. The preliminary results are being
published as a part of a larger interdisciplinary research
project by Charles University, Prague.
Loose Monetary Policy and Corporate Investment of Manufacturing Firms in the Czech Republic