In 1902 a British cigarette manufacturer, Philip Morris, established a corporation in New York to sell its tobacco brands, including Cambridge, Derby, and Marlboro - which was named after the street its London factory was situated on, Marlborough. In 1924, Philip Morris introduced Marlboro as a women's cigarette based on the slogan: "Mild as May". A female audience was targeted through a series of ads in 1926 depicting a feminine hand reaching for a cigarette. These advertisements featured stylish women posed in plush settings, and by the 1950s, babies were telling mom and dad what a great smoke a Marlboro was.

During World War II, however, the brand faltered and had to be taken off the market. Immediately following WWII, three new competing brands: Camel, Lucky Strike and Chesterfields surfaced with a firm hold on the consumer market. This further diminished the value of Marlboro cigarettes.

In 1942, the July issue of Reader's Digest published an article titled "Cigarette Advertising Fact and Fiction," that claimed that all cigarettes, regardless of brand, were essentially the same, and equally deadly. In 1957, Reader's Digest published an article that linked smoking with lung cancer. This is when Philip Morris saw its chance to reintroduce Marlboro and market it as the "safer" filtered brand. Consumers began feeling mislead by the established brands and dropped their old allegiances. Unable to break completely away from smoking, due to what was later recognized as nicotine addiction, many smokers were willing to try new cigarette brands. Unfortunately for Marlboro, formerly regarded as "Mild as May," the new filters were considered an extension of previous feminine image. Consequently, Phillip Morris had to completely revise and switch its advertising strategies in order to target an old group of customers with a new concern: addicted male smokers who were afraid of acquiring lung cancer.

Marlboro was reintroduced to the nation in 1955 with the "Tattooed Man" campaign. The image of the "new Marlboro smoker as a lean, relaxed outdoorsman - a cattle rancher, a Navy officer, a flyer - whose tattooed wrist suggested a romantic past, a man who had once worked with his hands, who knew the score, who merited respect," (Esquire 6/60) proved that nothing was feminine about the filtered cigarettes. The first advertisements spoke in a manner suggesting that the same old-fashioned flavors were being presented in a safer consumable form.

"Man-sized taste of honest tobacco comes full through. Smooth-drawing filter feels right in your mouth. Works fine but doesn't get in the way. Modern Flip-top box keeps every cigarette firm and fresh until you smoke it."
- Phillip Morris Marlboro Advertisement

In a friendly, unpretentious and honest voice, the Marlboro men gained the trust of millions. The "Tattooed Man" campaign was described by Cullman, as "virility without vulgarity, quality without snobbery" (Esquire 6/60). After their introduction in 1955, Marlboro became the top selling filtered cigarette in New York. Eight months after the campaign opened, sales had increased 5,000 per cent.

In the first years of these advertisements the public responses to the different "Marlboro Man" personalities were monitored. The cowboy emerged to be the most popular character. A narrowing process followed over the next forty years where the cowboy was recognized in a slew of campaigns. The cowboy taught consumers about filters, promoted the flip-top box, enticed women to try "the cigarette made for men that women like," and explained that long white ashes are a sign of good tobacco. The geometric design of the red, white and black-lettered flip-top Marlboro package boosted the appeal of a strong independent individual. The public embraced the red box as a symbol of membership to the club that recognized the Marlboro Man as their spokes-person. The box was a membership card available to everyone, an investment for themselves and their reputation, in the positive image of the Marlboro Man. Eventually he became silent, advertisements stopped having long tag lines, and his reputation and familiarity beckoned consumers without words to come with him to the place they knew well, Marlboro Country.

By 1992, Financial World ranked Marlboro the world's No. 1 most valuable brand, with a market worth of $32 billion. That same year, dying of lung cancer, "Marlboro Man" Wayne McLaren appeared at PM's annual shareholders meeting in Richmond, VA, and asked the company to voluntarily limit its advertising. Chairman Michael Miles responded, "We're certainly sorry to hear about your medical problem. Without knowing your medical history, I don't think I can comment any further."

Currently, Philip Morris' tobacco brands are in 180 markets, have a 38% market share in the US, are the top-selling cigarettes in the world, and the tenth-most valuable product brands overall.

References:

A Capsule History of Tobacco

Kluger, Richard. Ashes to Ashes: America's Hundred-Year Cigarette War, the Public Health, and the Unabashed Triumph of Philip Morris. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1996.

Written by Shumon Sharif