One sued Phillip Morris and the cigarettes became known colloquially as “cowboy killers”. Sadly, the three actors who played the Marlboro Man died of lung cancer. The genius of the ad is that at the same time there was a rising realisation that this thing will kill you, it was identified with a character who was, on the face of it, indomitable.” James Twitchell, author of 20 Ads that Shook the World, said the Marlboro Man was an achievement because it found success at a time when Americans were learning that cigarettes were genuinely dangerous, addictive products that could kill you. He supported the cowboy campaign and later had a hand in Marlboro’s introduction of the hard, flip-top cigarette packet – an invention that, by creating a ritual around opening a pack, contributed almost as much to the addictive nature of cigarettes as nicotine. Louis B Cheskin, whose original specialism was the psychological use of colour, proposed that the Marlboro packaging should suggest a medal worn around the neck as an unconscious cue of masculinity. It worked and the Marlboro Man became as famous as other Leo Burnett creations like Pillsbury Dough Boy and the Jolly Green Giant. Next came the long-running cowboy series, all in an attempt to convince the public that men could demand a filter too. First came the series with men with a tattoo on their smoking hand, tattoos were masculine then. The question then became how to make this cigarette appeal to men? The Leo Burnett advertising agency in Chicago was consulted and came up with campaigns that showed Real Men smoking filtered Marlboro cigarettes. Filters were generally decided to be the answer but Real Men, which was where the sales dollars were, didn’t smoke a filter cigarette. In the 1950’s there began a suspicion that smoking cigarettes may be linked to lung disease. The reason? Leo Burnett’s Marlboro Man and the abiding power of marketing, even in an industry where advertising itself is virtually forbidden. That dominance is mirrored to a lesser extent in just about every other territory the brand is marketed, as other cigarettes see brand share erode in favour of Big Red. In its home territory, more than four out of every ten cigarettes smoked is a Marlboro, the brand’s highest-ever level of market share. Ironically, as the tobacco industry comes under ever more intense regulatory pressure, Marlboro is still going from strength to strength at least in terms of market share. Ownership is split primarily between what are now two entirely separate companies: Philip Morris USA and Philip Morris International. Marlboro is far and away the world’s best-known and biggest-selling cigarette, with a huge global presence and total sales now still well in excess of $20bn.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |