Camel is a brand of cigarettes that was introduced by American company R.J. Reynolds Tobacco in the summer of 1913. Most current Camel cigarettes contain a blend of Turkish tobacco and Virginia tobacco. Early in 2008 the blend was changed as was the package design.
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In 1913, R.J. Reynolds developed an innovation: the packaged cigarette.[1] Most tobacco users who smoked cigarettes preferred to roll their own, and there was thought to be no national market for pre-packaged cigarettes.[1] Reynolds worked to develop a flavor he thought would be more appealing than past products, creating the Camel cigarette, so named because it used Turkish paper,[1] in imitation of then-fashionable Egyptian cigarettes. Reynolds undercut competitors on the cost of the cigarettes, and within a year, he had sold 425 million packs of Camels.[1]
Camel cigarettes were originally blended to have a milder taste in contrast to brands that, at the time of its introduction, were considered much harsher. They were advance promoted, prior to official release, by a careful advertising campaign that included "teasers" which merely stated that "the Camels are coming"[1] (a play on the old Scottish folk song, "The Campbells Are Coming"). This marketing style was a prototype for attempts to sway public opinion that coincided with the United States' entry into World War I, and later World War II. Another promotion strategy was the use of a Circus camel, 'Old Joe', which was driven through town and used to distribute free cigarettes. The brand's catch-phrase slogan, used for decades, was "I'd walk a mile for a Camel!"
The most famous historical style of Camel cigarettes is the soft pack of the regular, unfiltered variety (generally known as Camel Straights or Regulars). These were the first blend of Camels to be released. Camel regulars achieved the zenith of their popularity through personalities such as news broadcaster Edward R. Murrow, who smoked up to four packs of Camel regulars per day, in effect using a Camel cigarette as his trademark.[2]
In late 1987, RJR created "Joe Camel" as the mascot for the brand. In 1991, the American Medical Association published a report stating that 5- and 6-year olds could more easily recognize Joe Camel than Mickey Mouse, Fred Flintstone, Bugs Bunny or even Barbie.[3] This led the association to ask RJR to terminate the Joe Camel campaign. RJR declined, but further appeals followed in 1993 and 1994. On July 10, 1997, the Joe Camel campaign was retired and replaced with a more adult campaign which appealed to the desires of twenty-somethings to meet—or be—beautiful and exotic women in 1930s attire and themes.
In Europe, Camel is also a brand of cigarette rolling papers and cigarette roll-your-own tobacco. It maintains a top 20 level brand of RYO tobacco and papers in Northern Europe with yearly expansion into Southern and Eastern Europe according to the European Subsidiary's annual report.
In 2005, Camel implemented new changes to the Turkish flavors by adding the name on the cigarette paper and changing the filter color and design. Also in 2005, Turkish Silvers were introduced. These serve as the ultra light version of the three Turkish blends. Turkish Royal serves as the "full flavor" version, and Turkish Gold serves as the "lights" version. A menthol version, Turkish Jade, was also part of the Turkish Blends but has since been discontinued. After burning, the text on the paper is often still visible on the ashes which is also seen in Camel straights.
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the city where R.J.R. was founded, is nicknamed "Camel City" because of the brand's popularity.
The Turkish tobacco that is used in Camel cigarettes has a much more distinctive odor when burned as compared to other cigarettes. It generally has a darker, browner smell to the smoke. Filtered Camel cigarettes sold outside the US by JT International do not contain Turkish tobacco, instead they are produced in Romania with local tobacco.
The tobacco is mostly a blend of Samsun and İzmir Turkish tobacco and Virginia tobacco.
The camel in the logo is of the dromedary variety. In languages other than English, a distinction is made between camels and dromedaries, so the name and image do not coincide. The Camel name and branding were chosen to evoke the perceived mystery and exoticism of the Middle East.
The Camel pack is featured prominently in Tom Robbins' 1980 novel Still Life with Woodpecker, billed as "a love story that happens inside a pack of cigarettes". The book's artwork is modeled after a pack of Camels, and the package artwork and history are discussed extensively in the book. It is also mentioned that a pack of Camels is the best friend you have in prison.
The signature scene on most Camel cigarette packs shows a single dromedary standing on desert sand, with pyramids and palm trees in the background. Contrary to what some say is "inconsistency", the background is referencing the brand name of Camel as opposed to the type of tobacco blend in the pack (Turkish, mixed with Virginia). The image seems to stem from an Egyptian board game called Hyena. The hyena has been simply replaced by the camel, while the background scene remains much the same.
On the back of the cigarette pack is another desert scene, featuring this time bazaars and mosques. On European and some other non-U.S. versions, the desert scenes have been replaced by a health warning.
The Reynolds company commissioned Fred Otto Kleesattel in 1913 to draw the original camel.
Known as "Fritz", Kleesattel was a highly sought after graphic designer living in Louisville, Kentucky. He was hired through his company, Klee Ad Art, to design the packaging for the new Camel cigarettes' line. Klee Ad Art was also integral in devising designs for Four Roses Distillery, Heaven Hill Distilleries, and many other now immediately recognizable U.S. brands. While serving in the U.S. Army during World War I, Kleesattel worked as a camouflage artist, disguising buildings, vehicles and other potential targets by making them blend with their surroundings. There are urban myths about subliminal images allegedly being hidden within the artwork of the camel, such as a 'Manneken Pis' - Brussels' most famous statue - which is supposed to be standing within the camel's front left leg.
The reverse sides of many packs or boxes of Camel cigarettes display variations of the following text:
In 2008, this was changed to:
The reverse side of the three "Turkish Blend" cigarettes display this message along with a description that differs depending on the blend:
The reverse side of unfiltered "soft pack" Camel cigarettes has displayed this text for many years, a theme also used by R. J. Reynolds in its advertising as early as 1915:
Or alternatively can be seen displaying the text (later removed from some packets with the introduction of health warning messages):
The reverse side of unfiltered "soft pack" Camel cigarettes, produced by JT International reads:
Camel Wides, starting in 2008, began displaying this on the reverse side of the pack:
Notwithstanding the message telling smokers not to look for premiums or coupons on Camels, the brand nonetheless featured such a promotion called "Camel Cash". Camel Cash, or "C-Note" (C-Note = 5 US cents), is a coupon stuck to the back of filtered varieties of Camel cigarettes. It was made to resemble currency and could be exchanged for items from Camel's Camel Cash catalogue. The artwork changed many times over the years, and in the past included the face of Joe Camel, the controversial cartoon camel, much in the same way as presidents are featured on American currency. Camel Cash redemption expired on March 31, 2007.
Joe Camel was a controversial cartoon camel that primarily appeared in advertisements for Camel, but also appeared on "Camel Cash" and a number of origami Pop-up print ads. Joe Camel came under scrutiny as some considered use of the character to be advertising directed at children. Camel paid millions of dollars to settle lawsuits accusing them of using Joe Camel to market smoking to children.[4] His image was removed from Camel Cash in July, 1997, and discontinued in advertisements.
From 1972-1993, Camel was the title sponsor of the then-popular IMSA auto racing series, titled as Camel GT. From 1987 to 1991, Camel sponsored the Lotus Formula One team; and in the nineties, Camel sponsored the Benetton Formula One team and the Williams F1 team until 1993, Camel's last year as a sponsor in Formula One. In the early to mid-1990s, Camel sponsored the factory Honda team in the AMA Superbike series, as well as sponsoring the USHRA and AMA Supercross championships, resulting in the Camel Mud & Monster Series, and the Camel Supercross. In the 1997 Winston Cup season of NASCAR, Camel sponsored Jimmy Spencer's #23 Ford Thunderbird. From 2003-2005 Camel was the title sponsor of Sito Pons' MotoGP Team and then for the 2006 season Camel signed on to become the title sponsor of Yamaha's factory team, but due to European Tobacco Regulations, the company had to end their association with Yamaha at the end of the 2006 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season.
R.J. Reynolds plans to sell Camel packs showing one of ten cities to be visited by the Camel mascot. The Winston-Salem package will show a tobacco field and the city's skyline, including the former R.J. Reynolds headquarters. During a ten-week period, visitors to camel.tobaccopleasure.com will guess which city will be next. Matthew Myers, president of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, accused the company of targeting children once again, saying, "The new campaign cynically uses the names and images of trendy U.S. destinations … in an attempt to make Camel cigarettes cool again." David Howard of R.J. Reynolds emphasized the campaign was geared toward adults and pointed out only adults could access the website. [5]
Camel cigarettes come in the following varieties:
Camel Unfiltered
Camel Filters
Camel Filters Wides
Camel Filters 99's
Camel Blue (Lights)
Camel Blue Wides (Lights)
Camel Blue 99's (Lights)
Camel Platinum (Silver) (Ultra Lights)
Camel Platinum (Silver) 99's (Ultra Lights)
Camel Menthol
Camel Menthol Wides
Camel Menthol Silver (Lights)
Camel Menthol Green Wides (Lights)
Camel Crush
Camel Crush Bold
Camel Turkish Royal (full flavor blend)
Camel Turkish Gold (lights blend)
Camel Turkish Silver (ultra lights blend)
Camel No. 9
Camel No. 9 100's
Camel No. 9 Menthe
Camel No. 9 Menthe 100's
Camel Special Blend Lights
Camel Special Blend Lights 100's
Kamel Red(varies)
Kamel Red Lights(varies)
Camel Signature Mellow(varies)
Camel Signature Robust(varies)
Camel Signature Infused
Camel Signature Frost
Camel Izmir Stinger
Camel Basma
Camel Dark Mint
Camel Mandarin Mint
Camel Samsun
Camel Cinnzabar
Camel Twist
Camel Rare
Camel Rare Menthol
Camel Mandalay Lime
Camel Aegean Spice
Camel Bayou Blast
Camel Beach Breezer
Camel Margarita Mixer
Camel Midnight Madness
Camel Back Alley Blend
Camel Kauai Kolada
Camel Crema
Camel Twista Lime
Camel Warm Winter Toffee
Camel Winter Mocha Mint Camel Turkish Jade
Camel Black (South Africa)
Camel Full Flavour (South Africa) (Previously Camel Mild)
Camel Natural (South Africa)
Camel Nutty Menthol (Japan) Camel One (Ukraine)
Camel Orange (Medium) (Ukraine)
Camel Super Lights (South Africa)
Camel White (South Africa)
Camel Filters (gold/brown pack - 20 cigarettes)
Camel Light (blue pack - 20 cigarettes)
(discontinued)
Camel Natural Flavor 8
Camel Natural Flavor 6 *Lights*
Camel Natural Flavor 4 *Ultra Lights*
These varieties contain a small bead in the filter filled with a menthol liquid. When crushed, the liquid is released into the filter giving the smoker an increased menthol flavor.
Camel Crush - Camel Light becomes a Camel Menthol Light
Camel Crush Bold - Bold becomes menthol
Camel Menthol- Adds an additional amount of menthol flavoring to the cigarette.
Camel Menthol Silver (Light) - Adds an additional amount of menthol flavoring to the cigarette.
Camel Mellow
Camel Robust
Camel Frost
Camel Winterchill
Camel Original Portion (Sweden/Norway only)
Camel White Portion (Sweden/Norway only)
Camel Dark Milled (fine cut)
Camel Wintergreen Wide Cut (long cut)
Camel Wintergreen Pouches
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