Smoking Ads on YouTube - Sneaky Tobacco Marketing (VIDEO)

They’re not dumb; cigarette companies are successful for a reason, as further proven by a recent Australian research study.

While they may not be allowed to advertise in certain movies, on TV or in print media, no one has banned cigarette companies from marketing online. Professor Simon Chapman from Sydney University is “accusing tobacco manufacturers of hijacking YouTube by flooding it with videos of glamorous, smoking teens,” according to Shelved in the W’s.

“YouTube and other popular social sites like Facebook and MySpace are running riot with pro-smoking messages which appear to have the fingerprints of tobacco companies all over them.”

Yikes, but really, is it a surprise? Type in “smoking” on YouTube, about 64,300 results come up; “cigarette” yields about 14,900, while even the brand “Marlboro” alone generates 3,810.

Check out how the following clips actually make smoking look fun or sexy, from retro ads and movies to modern subliminal ads and celebrity endorsement. We kick off with the infamous “You’re the One That I Want” scene from Grease, then a compilation of smoking celebrities.