Smoking Ads - Then & Now

by J. Barker

Here's Marlboro's current campaign:

That's right. I couldn't find anything. Nothing. I'm not saying that there's nothing out there. I'm just saying that after some digging, the most I came up with was this:

Zoom! cough, cough

Marlboro gets its ads out there via sporting event sponsorship. Gone is the Marlboro man image. Now we have the smoking race car drivers.

Most other cigarette brands have gone this route, making it difficult to find any current advertising (at least here in the US). But cigarette accessories are doing quite well in the ad department.

Let's take a look at Zippo:

Zippo Ad, 1968

I'll give ‘em credit. Zippo's last forever and this ad knows it.

Zippo, 1960

Another testament to Zippo's toughness. Gotta wonder if the fish puffed down a few Camels before he was caught...

Check out Zippo's current advertising:

Zippo, 2009

I don't see the lighter. I don't see any example of how durable a Zippo is. I don't even see a fish. What I do see is a big, flashy "look at me!" swirl with a tiny little logo in the corner.

Other than catching the eye for a miniscule portion of a moment, this ad does nothing. Sure, it's pretty... but I've done the same thing with my Wii lightsabers:

If you've made it this far, thanks. I really couldn't deliver what I initially intended, simply because the current opinion of smoking has changed. I do hope that I've enlightened a few of you and provided a chuckle or two.

Now, if you'll excuse me... I'm going to digest.

Really... no cigarettes involved. I just ate a ton of pizza.

SOURCES: Wikipedia, Ads of the World, Ad Classix