Juul Marketing Chief Leaves as E-Cigarette Maker Suspends Advertising

By Nat Ives 

Juul Labs Inc. Chief Marketing Officer Craig Brommers, a former marketing executive at Gap Inc. and Abercrombie & Fitch Co., is leaving the embattled e-cigarette maker.

"Craig Brommers, an incredibly talented marketing executive, has asked to transition out of Juul Labs in the coming months so that he can pursue opportunities with other companies," a spokesman said in a statement.

Mr. Brommers was the company's first CMO when he joined in April, having most recently served as CMO of Gap's flagship brand. Juul will now eliminate the post, the spokesman said. He declined to make Mr. Brommers available to comment.

Juul is undergoing a broader reorganization including marketing cutbacks as it navigates a Federal Trade Commission investigation into its marketing, a proposed U.S. ban on flavors that comprise more than 80% of its sales, and general alarm over a spreading vaping-related illness.

Juul's products haven't been tied to the illness, but a recent federal warning to stop using all vaping products has hurt sales.

The FTC is examining whether Juul used influencers and other marketing to appeal to minors. The company says it never targeted minors, and only ran a small pilot using influencers.

The company late last month named a new chief executive, K.C. Crosthwaite, and suspended broadcast, print and digital ads for its U.S. products.

Programmers including CNN, TNT, TBS, Viacom and CBS had already said they would stop taking e-cigarette ads.

Juul ran commercials on TV networks such as Discovery Channel, A&E and the Travel Channel more than 1,500 times in September, according to iSpot.tv. The spots depict former smokers talking about their switch to vaping. Other ads this year have supported raising the minimum age to buy tobacco and vaping products to 21 and described steps that Juul says it has taken to combat youth smoking.

The company plans to cut some 500 jobs by the end of the year as it prepares for the ban on popular flavors.

Jennifer Maloney contributed to this article.

Write to Nat Ives at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 29, 2019 11:43 ET (15:43 GMT)

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