Body of Work

Marlboro Advertisements
Evolution of a Brand

Cigarette brand Marlboro has been advertising since the 1920s.

Over the course of the decades we can track a shift in their target audience and how it
affects the way their advertisements look. As such, they fit wonderfully into our next
body of work and arguable could be reasoned to go with any of the 3 Areas of
Exploration.

Let’s go through a selection of their ads and track their contextual evolution.
1900-20s
In 1904, a woman in New York was sentenced to 30 days in jail for smoking in the presence of her children. Four
years later, another woman in New York was arrested for smoking a cigarette in public.

In 1921, Congress proposed a bill that would ban women from smoking in public in Washington, D.C. Women who
did smoke were often forced to do so at home.

It would have been very shocking for women to smoke in public in the early 20th century, in polite American society,
women did not smoke, certainly not in public.
1920s
1920s - Smoking is Glamorous

The company's debut tagline was "Mild as May" — a reference to both the flavor of the cigarettes and the
demeanor of the women smoking them.

Many of the women in these advertisements had dark lips, long eyelashes, and perfectly coiffed hair. Their
cigarettes were perched neatly between two fingers. Marlboro even marketed the cigarettes as an accessory
for bridge parties or limousine rides.

The cigarettes came with grease-proof tips designed to prevent a woman's lipstick from smudging. Marlboro
even introduced red rims around the cigarette to disguise lipstick stains.
1940s
1940s
This advertisement from 1945 catered to women, but featured the slogan: "Everything for the boys”.

Men in the 1940s smoked Marlboro, too — though the brand wasn't as popular as the American Tobacco
Company's Lucky Strike cigarettes.

By 1954, the "women's cigarette" still represented less than 1% of the domestic cigarette market.

In the 1950s, scientific research started to suggest that cigarettes could cause lung cancer in men. Fearful of
losing a key market, Marlboro introduced its signature mascot: the Marlboro Man.
1950s -
1960s
"They wanted to have a filter brand that was more lifestyle-oriented," Jackler said. "This paper-wrapped, shredded
tobacco leaf was everything to everyone. It was an essential part of daily life."

That was true despite the fact that not all Americans resembled the Marlboro Man.

"There's a real genius to it," Jackler said. "Very few people are Marlboro Men, but people resonate with what the Marlboro
Man represents."

Before settling on the cowboy, Marlboro tested many different tropes of masculinity, including sailors, football players,
and airline pilots.The cowboy was by far the most popular figure. He symbolized a rugged individualism that appealed to many
Americans heading into the 1960s.
1970s
1970s

The Marlboro Man was also the portrait of physical health and strength — despite what research suggested
about smoking and lung cancer.

The connotation of these ads is, 'Not only am I rugged and masculine, but I'm in control of my own.
Nobody's going to tell me what to do and I don't have to listen to those doctors and public-health people’.
1980s
1990s
By the 1990s, Marlboro was still America's best-selling cigarette, but customers were increasingly willing to jump ship for
cheaper brands. The Clinton administration was also threatening to impose higher taxes on cigarettes to discourage
smoking.

In 1992, Wayne McLaren became the first man who appeared in a Marlboro advertisement to die of a smoking-related
illness.

In addition to lowering its prices, Marlboro unveiled a new advertising campaign called the "Marlboro Adventure Team,"
which offered 10 winners several days of hiking, biking, rafting, and horseback riding through Colorado and Utah. The
company also sold "Adventure Gear" like jackets, canvas duffel bags, Swiss Army watches, and lighters.

The Marlboro Man was absent from the campaign.

1990s
2000s
reference

https://www.businessinsider.in/slideshows/miscellaneous/vintage-ads-show-th
e-hidden-legacy-of-the-marlboro-man-the-brand-first-became-popular-as-a-wome
ns-cigarette-/slidelist/74229396.cms#slideid=74229398