‘ Marlboro Man’

1. ‘Marlboro Man’ AdGirlZ’s Advertising Campaign Analysis

2. Mild as May vs.Wild as Marlboro Manslide adjusted (see original – slide 3) not whole sentences!! • 1920s: Marlboro - cigarettes with filters for women or a milder version of cigarettes middle/upper class men (embedded ‘feminine’ connotations) • 1950s: U-turn in Marlboro’s marketing strategy - ‘Marlboro Man’ created • 1971: ‘Marlboro Man’ disappeared from screen • 1990s: Commercial death of ‘Marlboro Man’ from billboards and press

3. Mild as May VSWild as Marlboro Man • 1920s – Marlboro advertised as cigarettes with filters for women or a milder version of cigarettes for well-dressed middle/upper class men (embedded ‘feminine’ connotations) • 1950s – U-turn in Marlboro’s marketing strategy as a result of rising awareness of smoking-related diseases. Marlboro promoting cigarettes with filters for men. ‘Marlboro Man’ created. New era for Philip Morris & Co. started. • 1971 – Ban on tobacco TV commercial. ‘Marlboro Man’ disappeared from a screen. • 1990s – Further prohibition of tobacco advertisements. Commercial death of ‘Marlboro Man’ from billboards and press.

4. "I said, 'What's the most masculine symbol you can think of?' slightly changed • Leo Burnett Worldwide – the creator of ‘Marlboro Man’ • Response to the previous feminine image of the brand • While cigarettes were gaining more opponents, Burnett created the ad avoiding this concern; based on escapism and masculinity • Inspired by the cover of LIFE Magazine with Clarence Hailey Long from 1949 (Brandt, 2006)

5. LIFE Magazine Clarence Hailey Long, 1949

6. Creation of “Marlboro Man” change 2 • Relied on growing popularity of westerns and cowboys films • Darrell Winfield (model/ex-cowboy) gave the authenticity to the advert . He remained ‘Marlboro Man’ for 20 years. • $300 on searching for Winfield’s replacement as ‘Marlboro Man’ • (Brandt, 2006)

7. "I said, 'What's the most masculine symbol you can think of?' • Leo Burnett Worldwide – the creator of ‘Marlboro Man’ • Response to the previous feminine image of the brand • While cigarettes were gaining more opponents, Burnett created the ad avoiding this concern; based on escapism and masculinity • Inspired by the cover of LIFE Magazine with Clarence Hailey Long from 1949 • Relied on growing popularity of westerns and cowboys films • Darrell Winfield (model/ex-cowboy) gave the authenticity to the advert . He remained ‘Marlboro Man’ for 20 years. • $300 on searching for Winfield’s replacement as ‘Marlboro Man’ • (Brandt, 2006)

8. Post adolescent kids... “[...]post adolescent kids who were just beginning to smoke as a way of declaring their independence from their parents” Philip Morris The Marlboro Man’s target audience is the strong, outdoor, independent man, the person who thinks for himself, lives his own life and does his own thing.

9. On a screen, by a motorway, in press... • 1955 – the first ‘Marlboro Man’ commercial released (“What kind of man he is” – the prelude of ‘Marlboro Cowboy’) • 1960s – ‘Marlboro Country’ commercial following western-like patterns (inspired by The Magnificent Seven); billboards and press adverts across the country (USA): ‘Marlboro Country’ and ‘Come to where the flavor is. Come to Marlboro Country’ • 1971 – Ban on tobacco TV commercial • 1970s/80s – ‘Marlboro Man’ present on billboards and in press in USA and 150 countries across the world • 1990s – Ban on printed tobacco ads and billboards

10. ‘Marlboro Country’

11. Semiotics

12. Return On Investment • Through this campaign Philip Morris established Marlboro as one of the best known tobacco brands in the world. • The campaign set up a certain connotation with the brand recognisable worldwide and also distinguished it from other brands (Roman, 2009).

13. Impact and Implications • ‘Marlboro Man’ advertising campaign is mostly analysed in context of semiotic analysis, visual context and mythological meaning attached to it. • E.g. Chapman and Egger in their piece “Myth in cigarette advertising and health promotion” claim that Marlboro created a clever way to build up the myth around Marlboro as a brand that brings naturalness, freshness and untouched wildness. Unfortunately, the real effect of smoking cigarettes is significantly different (1987:176). • Promoting cigarettes as a natural part of life led to set the ban on advertising tobacco products (political implication).

14. Billboard

15. Mythical Message • Masculinity and the Marlboro Man: Marlboro Man may be considered as a stereotype of the masculine • Cowboys as „softies“ rather than „machos“ (ethos of the Wild West) • Idea: Smoking does NOT cause serious health problems (implicit message: cigarettes are something soft and gentle) • And finally, ‘Marlboro Man’ exists in the culture as a single, separate symbol (‘Marlboro Man’ stands for an idiomatic expression describing specific values and bringing established connotations)

16. References • 1. Barry, A. M. (1997) VisualIntelligence: Perception, Image and Manipulation in Visual Communications. Albany: State University of New York Press • 2. Brandt, A. (2006) The Cigarette Century. New York: Basic Books • 3. Chapman, S. Egger G. (1987) “Myth in cigarette advertising and health promotion” in Marketing and semiotics: New direction in the study of signs for sale. edited by J. Umiker-Sebeok. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter • 4. Knowles, E. (2006) "Marlboro Man" The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable.[online] Available from:http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-MarlboroMan.html  [Accessed: 27 November 2010] • 5. Roman, K. (2009) The Kings of Madison Avenue. New York: St. Martins Press