Tom,
No tobacco products
per se can be advertised legally on U.S. radio.
I posted
a bit of a reminiscence on this topic here last month, along with links to some vintage cigarette commercials.
I don't believe that the tobacco ban extends to, say, pipe shops or even tobacconists, assuming they stick to advertising something other than tobacco products. But even the smokeless tobacco products, e.g., snuff and chewing tobacco (
snoose and
chaw, in the vernacular), have been banned from the airwaves since 1986.
You could check with RAB about coop opportunities with allied products though.
I'm not an attorney, Tom, but our guy has advised us that the advertising of cigarettes and small cigars is illegal. Advertising other tobacco products is a slippery slope, and although there is probably some co-op or vendor money out there, you may want to get a definitive opinion from your FCC attorney before you put anything on the air.
Cigarettes and small cigars are banned but regular cigars are OK. I write cigar features for the Inland Empire Business Journal and I have made a number of contacts among cigar reps. They have, occationally, cash support for local stores. Those stores know who I mean.
Also, check out the Cigar Dave radio talk show. (Google Cigar Dave) Your people may want to sponsor it.
