| Introduced | 1964 |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Japan Tobacco |
Hamlet is a well known brand of cigar produced by Japan Tobacco. They are available in several varieties, miniatures and also a regular length. They are regularly referred to as the 'mild cigar' in their advertising.
Hamlet cigars were first launched in the UK in 1964. More recently, Hamlet cigars have been launched in a number of western European markets.
They are most famous in the UK for their comical advertisements, which present scenes in which a man, having failed dismally at something, is consoled by lighting a Hamlet cigar. Much of the humour came from the fact that the product being advertised was deliberately unclear until the tell-tale cigar appeared, accompanied by the tune of Bach's Air on the G String, played by French musician Jacques Loussier, and the line 'Happiness is a cigar called Hamlet'. For example, one advertisement created a diversion by appearing to be advertising beer: a man, dying of thirst in a desert, finds a can of Heineken but accidentally spills it all into the sand; so instead he lights up a Hamlet cigar.
Since the ban on tobacco advertising in the UK and much of Europe was implemented, the adverts are no longer aired.
The closure in September 2009 of the Cardiff-based factory producing Hamlet was announced on 16 October 2007.