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philip morris is huffing and puffing over the AIDS Committee of Toronto’s Welcome To Condom Country campaign. But despite its fears that the controversial ads are too similar to their Marlboro message, the company insists its gentle suasion will get the ads shelved and is not planning litigation. Robert Kaplan, a spokesperson for Philip Morris, says, “We defend our trademark however we can. Any company does that — it’s about survival.” But he believes the corporation will be able to make peace with the grassroots committee. “We’re asking them to stop the campaign, and I think they will.”
ACT’s Lee Zaslofsky insists his group has no plans to pull the ads. “We’ve been having exchanges with Philip Morris. We’ll continue to be in touch with them to see if there is any way we can rectify the situation in a mutually beneficial way. We’re going ahead with the campaign as planned. We’re firm, we will not pull the ad,” says Zaslofsky.
