In response to President Obama's soon-to-be-signed anti-tobacco legislation, which includes the requirement that colorful cigarette ads be replaced with stark black & white only text, design mavens Pentagram have revealed several intriguing ways in which Big Tobacco can package smokes under the new marketing guidelines.

The mastermind behind these designs--subtle gems such as multiple stabbings and skull & bones--is Pentagram partner DJ Stout, who started the project after a proposal from the St. Petersburg Times to interpret how brands like Marlboro could comply with the new rules.

On Pentagram's site, Stout issues the following statement regarding the concept:

"Our marketing advice to cigarette companies in the new heavily regulated era is to fully accept the new aggressive anti-smoking restrictions and wallow in the government's apocalyptic health warnings. Don't make excuses or dance around the stepped-up marketing regulations, just transform the whole cigarette pack into a three-dimensional warning label."

Whether or not Marlboro and its embattled ilk will heed Pentagram's suggestions is uncertain. But Stout nevertheless has pulled off a notable faux-campaign that not only considers a smoker's awareness that cigs will likely kill them but one which doesn't alienate them anymore than they already are in society.

Via

More: "How to Make Your Billboard Work Again"