Remembering The Legendary Marlboro Man

As brand image of the most successful ad campaign of all time, Marlboro Man stands as masculine trademark, bring to the world an American cowboy masculinity myth, transformed a feminine 'Mild as May' Marlboro filtered cigarette image drastically into one that was pure masculine in a matter of months. It also helping establish Marlboro as the best-selling cigarette brand in the world.

The Marlboro man also considered as one of the biggest marketing icons in modern marketing world. On the other side, Marlboro Man being a most hated brand image, gaining the new nickname "Cowboy killers", as the anti-smoking movement has spread and attack its role in luring peoples to a cancer-causing habit.

Philip Morris, a London-based cigarette manufacturer who created a New York subsidiary in 1902 to sell several of its cigarette brands, including Marlboro, had introduced Marlboro as a woman’s cigarette in 1924 with slogan "Mild As May". Later, in the 1950s they decided to totally revise the brand campaign.

Advertising legend Leo Burnett hired by Philip Morris then created the macho icon as Marlboro's brand image reposition. Burnett's original newspaper ad involves a rugged cowboy in nature with cigarette in his mouth, carried the slogan "delivers the goods on flavor". The concept of a cowboy character itself was inspired by a photograph that appeared in an issue of Life Magazine in 1949. In the United States, where the campaign originated, Marlboro Man ad campaign was used from 1954 to 1999.

Marlboro's TV commercial in the '60s reflected the idea of freedom in wide-open spaces. In 1964, the company revived the cowboy and gave him a mythical land all his own known as Marlboro Country. The Magnificent Seven movie theme was added to the scene when Marlboro Man enjoying a smoke on horseback or leading their herds through "Marlboro Country" dusty canyons or prairie and carried slogans "Come to where the flavor is"; "Come to Marlboro Country".

The Magnificent Seven Theme:

However, the Marlboro Man's TV commercials were discontinued when tobacco advertisements were legislated off the air in 1971, followed by radio, billboards and print advertisements in youth markets.

Marlboro Man TV Commercial:



The first Marlboro Man was Robert "Bob" Beck. Other actors who also portray the Marlboro Man were Brad Johnson, Darrell Winfield (who appeared the majority of the print ads), Dick Hammer, Wayne McLaren, David McLean, New York Giants Quarterback Charley Conerly, Dean Myers, Robert Norris, Tom Mattox and John Bryant (best remembered as the original "Marlboro Man"). For the European market, Marlboro Man portrayed by George "Bond" Lazenby (who played James Bond in On Her Majesty's Secret Service). Ironically, two men who appeared in Marlboro advertisements - Wayne McLaren and David McLean - died of lung cancer. Before his death at the age of 51, McLaren testified in favor of anti-smoking legislation.

Related product link:
Vintage Tobacco Films - Dangers of Cigarettes and Cigarette Smoking, Nicotine, Cigarette Commericals, Smoking Related Cancer, Tobacco Industry Advertising and More
(a variety of films in a DVD discussing the health risks of smoking counterbalanced by a variety of commericals promoting smoking to the tv viewing audience.)