Marlboro (cigarette)
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Marlboro is a brand of cigarette made by Altria. It is famous for its billboard advertisements and magazine ads of the Marlboro Man. In 2001 it was the most popular cigarette brand in the U.S.[1] It is currently the best selling cigarette brand in the world.[citation needed]
Philip Morris, a London-based cigarette manufacturer, created a New York subsidiary in 1902 to sell several of its cigarette brands, including Marlboro. By 1924 they were advertising Marlboro as a woman's cigarette based on the slogan "Mild As May".
The brand was sold in this capacity until World War II when the brand faltered and was temporarily removed from the market. At the end of the war, three brands: Camel, Lucky Strike, and Chesterfield surfaced and established a firm hold on the cigarette market. However, the 1950s saw an impressive comeback of Marlboro cigarettes when a new cowboy image was introduced in promotion and the sales skyrocketed by 5000%.[citation needed]
During the same era Reader's Digest magazine published a series of articles that linked smoking with lung cancer. Philip Morris, and the other cigarette companies took notice and each began to market filtered cigarettes. The new Marlboro with a filtered tip was launched in 1955.
The brand is named after Great Marlborough Street, the location of its original London factory.
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[edit] Varieties
As of August 16, 2005:
- Reds (Full Flavor): Kings, 100s and 72 mm box
- Medium: Kings and 100s (marketed as Marlboro Red & Gold in the EU)
- Lights: Kings, 100s, and 72 mm box (marketed as Marlboro Gold in the EU)
- Ultra Lights: Kings and 100s (marketed as Marlboro Silver in the EU)
- Menthol: Kings,100s, and 72 mm box
- Menthol Lights: Kings and 100s
- Menthol Ultra Lights: Kings and 100s
- Menthol Milds: Kings,100s, and 72 mm box
- UltraSmooth: Kings
- Blend No. 27
- Marlboro Blend 28 (UK)
- Marlboro Blend 29 (Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy)
- Marlboro Wides (Portugal, France, Spain, The Netherlands)
It should be noted that a US District Court decision on August 17, 2006, ruled that tobacco companies could no longer use terms like "'low tar,' 'light,' ultra light,' 'mild' or 'natural'", which they declared to be deceptive.[2] Beginning in January 2007, these product names can no longer be used. The companies are expected to change the names to standard "color" names: Marlboro Red, Marlboro Gold (Light), Marlboro Silver (Ultra Light).[3] Those "color names" are already in use in the European Union, where use of potentially misleading names like "lights" was outlawed in 2005.
[edit] Miscellaneous
- A recent case study (2002) by research analysts of the tobacco industry has concluded that Marlboro is currently the top selling cigarette brand for Caucasian smokers.
- Marlboro cigarettes burn an estimated 25% faster than other top-selling premium brands such as Camel, Winston, Dunhill, and Player's. Philip Morris uses re-constituted sheet tobacco and processed stems as well as chemicals such as formaldehyde and ammonia to fill the cigarettes. All of the above are reasons for Marlboro burning more rapidly.citation needed
- In the 1980s an urban myth spread throughout the United States and even Europe, that Marlboro packaging carried imagery related to the Ku Klux Klan. The myth held that the Klan owned all, or a major part of, the Philip Morris company, and that Philip Morris himself was involved with the organization. And the symbols on the sides of the Marlboro represented 'K,K,K', as well as Marlboro upside down being seen, by some, to read 'Orobl Jew'. These allegations are unfounded - indeed to own even 1% of the company would require over $500 m, and Philip Morris was a British tobacco merchant.
[edit] Trivia
- The width of the diagonal lines of the Marlboro "shape" on cigarette packs is exactly equal to the width of a standard book of matches.
- As of July 25, 2006, the Rothman, Benson and Hedges company released a similar proprietary brand of cigarettes into the Canada market under the label Rooftop, distinguished by the use of the Rooftop package design found in Canada in the 1950s. The Rooftop design is presently owned by a predecessor company to Philip Morris USA and now owned in Canada by Philip Morris Products SA.
The company is unable to release the product under the Marlboro brand as neither Philip Morris Products, SA, its affiliates or Rothman Benson Hedges has any rights to the Marlboro brand name in Canada. The cigarette was available in three varieties: Rooftop Reds (comparable to Marlboro Filter), Rooftop Gold (Marlboro Lights) and Rooftop Silver (Marlboro Extra Light). All cigarettes were issued in King Size.
[edit] Advertising campaigns
"Mild as May" was the advertising campaign used by Marlboro cigarettes before they added a filtered tip to their product. The product was endorsed by Mae West and marketed towards women.
One of the features of Marlboro cigarettes at the time was a red tip, which hid lipstick marks that women would leave while smoking.
This campaign was dropped in favor of a more masculine Marlboro Man campaign. In the early 1960s Philip Morris (with advertising director Thomas Hutzler) invented "Marlboro Country" and distilled their manly imagery into a rugged cowboy known as the "Marlboro Man." Television commercials included Elmer Bernstein's theme for the classic western "The Magnificent Seven." Marlboro quickly gained market share and saw their sales increase 5,000% within 8 months of the ad campaign's premiere.
Through the years, Marlboro ad campaigns have been represented by reddish colors, American Western landscapes and a rugged cowboy. These three elements, either combined or separate, are well recognizable and known as Marlboro Country, even without mentioning the brand name or slogan. The image embodied by the Marlboro ad campaign has become an immediately and universally recognizable icon embodying an idealized and appealing American lifestyle.
As a tie-in to the new "Marlboro Man" advertising campaign, Philip Morris began including "Marlboro Miles" above the barcode on each pack of Marlboro cigarettes. These Miles could be redeemed via a mail-order catalog for a variety of merchandise emblazoned with the Marlboro brand and logo, running the gamut from cooking implements and camping gear to apparel and lighters. This promotion--similar to the "C-note" redemption system for coupons found on packs of Camel cigarettes--was phased out in 2006. Packs of Marlboro cigarettes manufactured after April 2006 no longer provide Marlboro Miles, although existing Miles may be redeemed through September 2006. The redemption campaigns were referred to at various times as "Marlboro Country Store" and "Marlboro Gear".
Marlboro is also well known for its sponsorship of motor racing. The Penske cars in the IRL Indycar series currently run in Marlboro's distinctive red and white colors. Marlboro sponsorship in Indycars dates back to 1986. In 2006, a Marlboro-sponsored car won the Indianapolis 500 for the eighth time.
In Formula One, Marlboro is currently the main sponsor for the Ferrari Team, officially branded as Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro. Marlboro also backed Ferrari as a secondary sponsor dating back to the late 1980s with drivers such as Nigel Mansell, Michele Alboreto, Gerhard Berger, Nicola Larini, Jean Alesi and Alain Prost. Ferrari President Enzo Ferrari refused to allow "outside" sponsor brands to appear on his Team's racing cars. After Ferrari's death in 1988, Marlboro were among the first to have their logos appear on the Ferrari F1 cars. For many years, Marlboro was the primary backer of the highly successful McLaren Team. Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Martin Brundle, Mark Blundell, Nigel Mansell, Mika Hakkinen and Michael Andretti all raced for Marlboro backed McLaren Teams during the 1980s and 1990s. The Marlboro McLaren Honda MP4/4 entry from 1988 remains the most successful entry in Formula-1 history winning 15 of 16 rounds. Various other drivers have also been affiliated with the brand in the past as members of the "Marlboro World Championship Team". The Peugeot World Rally team has also run with the iconic Marlboro livery. Marlboro are generally credited as being among the most important of sponsors to the world of Formula-1 (and motor racing in general), having provided financial backing to countless young racers who may not have otherwise been given the opportunity to compete.
In mid-2006, special "racing editions" of Marlboro Red were sold in the UK, with a Ferrari-inspired design, although the Ferrari name and badge were not used.
In the US Outwit the West is an annual promotional competition first run in 2004. It is a targeted campaign to selected adults on the Marlboro mailing list. Four-member teams receive 100 questions which are cryptic clues to locations in the American West. The 20 teams who submit the largest number of correct answers by the deadline (December 18, 2006 for Outwit the West 3) win a trip to the Marlboro Ranch. Once at the ranch, the top group is revealed and awarded the $1,000,000 prize. The campaign aims to build a brand community.
