UNESCO flatly rejects donation from Davidoff Swiss Indoors
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In a turn of event that has been a very serious slap in the face for the Davidoff Swiss Indoors, UNESCO, the United Nations organization dedicated to education, science and culture, has flatly rejected a donation from the organizers of the Basel tournament, saying that it would not accept tobacco money. In two press releases issued in 2009, the organizers of the Basel tournament had announced, in much fanfare, that they would make a donation to "UN charity UNESCO" (sic!). There was, however, a slight problem with the announcement: it is strictly against UNESCO's rules to receive donation linked to the tobacco industry. Furthermore, the Davidoff people had failed to consult UNESCO before announcing their donation - perhaps hoping to place the organization before a fait accompli. Fortunately, UNESCO was warned about the plan, which angered their Director-General. He wrote a harsh letter to Mr. Brennwald, telling him that UNESCO was refusing the money and that he found the move to announce the donation without prior consultation with UNESCO offensive. He added that he had instructed Ms Caballé, the world renowned opera singer, that she could not appear at the event in her capacity as UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador to receive any donation of any kind from the Davidoff Swiss Indoors. Although much communication was made to announce the donation, the organizers remained silent when they were rebuffed by UNESCO. Consistent with their ostrich policy, they made no comment, even when the incident was reported by the media. |
Read more: UNESCO flatly rejects donation from Davidoff Swiss Indoors
Maximum pleasure
The title sponsor of the Davidoff Swiss Indoors tournament presents itself on the website of the tournament with the following prose:

Isn't this beautifully said? The merchants of Davideath do not only stretch their brand, they also stretch their advertising rhetoric beyond irony and antiphrasis, exploring new territories of human gullibity: "The Good Life" is their "open Sesame" to profitability from selling a deadly product to those influenceable enough to buy this kind of B.S. Just in the same way they are selling Gauloises (another Imperial Tobacco brand), a product that traps people in addiction, under the slogan "Freedom forever."
However, reality has a strong tendency to strike back, often at the moment least expected.
When you see Davidoff The Good Life, Davideath The Ugly Death may not be far away. Actually, it just takes a pack of Davidoff Gold cigarettes sold in Switzerland to have that experience. The back side of the pack offers an extraordinary juxtaposition where reality does hit hard indeed. But at least, Zino Davidoff being quoted saying that "these carefully selected tobaccos have been skillfully blended to assure your pleasure" does not run the risk of being contradicted by the corpse of the former smoker in the morgue!

Other Big Lies
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When we received our copy of the super-provisional request submitted to the civil court of Basel (Civil Gericht Basel-Stadt) by Oettinger Imex AG and Davidoff & Cie SA, the two tobacco companies, we couldn't believe our eyes: it contained blatantly false statements on two crucial points. We raised this issue during the hearing on 13 November, and the judge, Dr. A Heierli, concurred with our finding. |
Are the Swiss Indoors doomed?
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Would it be that the Davidoff Swiss Indoors giant, in spite of its superb arrogance, is a vulnerable Achilles, and that a few determined public health advocates can easily provoke his downfall? Let us say right away that, if there are no Davidoff Swiss Indoors in 2010, it will not be the fault of a "bunch of anti-smoking activists" - an easy scapegoat for those who do not want to face their responsibilities. It will be because Mr. Breenwald has opted for the ostrich policy, ignoring that the world around Basel has changed since 1994. |
Using tennis to sell death
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In Basel, from 31st October to 8th November 2009, the Swiss tennis event of the year has been hijacked once more by the tobacco multinational Imperial Tobacco and their like and turned into a global advertising operation for their strategic cigarette and cigar brand, Davidoff. An operation aimed at selling a deadly product. In brief: selling death. |
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