‘Marlbore Man’ AdGirlZ’s Advertising Campaign Analysis

Mild as May VS Wild 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 – 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.

"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)

LIFE Magazine Clarence Hailey Long, 1949

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.

On a screen, by a motorway, in press – 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

‘Marlboro Country’

Semiotics Denotation: a cowboy, a horse, a cigarette, nature, semi- desert environment, a young man, casual clothes, physical work, smoking. Connotation: masculinity, power, hard-working, smoking as a pleasure and leisure time activity, naturalness, freshness, wildness of nature, freedom, independence, health, simplicity. Myth: Marlboro as cigarettes for men that empower and give freedom, health, pleasure to the smokers; this brand guarantees simplicity in so complicated life and recklessness equal cowboys’ one.

Return On Investment YearAction/ResultLevel of Sales 1955‘Marlboro Man’ campaign released for the first time $5 billion 1957after 2 years sales increase of 300% $20 billion 1975Marlboro was named "top selling brand in the United States and the all-time best- seller in the world“ (PM History 20) 300 billion cigarettes sold annually 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).

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).

Billboard

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)

References 1.Barry, A. M. (1997) Visual Intelligence: 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: [Accessed: 27 November 2010] 5.Roman, K. (2009) The Kings of Madison Avenue. New York: St. Martins Press