Phillip Morris Inc. called upon LEO Burnett, an Advertising company to help resolve its problem. It was this collaboration that soon led to the creation of the Marlboro Man image, which at the time was not limited solely to cowboys, but was being marketed and advertised as a product that was developed for any rugged individual. The Marlboro man advertising campaign took a brief hold after various professional sources once again began to link smoking with cancer. It was at this time that the company began to focus the products advertising towards a softer market without losing the integrity of the rugged, manly image that has been created. This was done by focusing the products advertising on women sharing their personal time with very wealthy men while enjoying a cigarette. (Marlboro Man, 2002).
The famous and very profitable Marlboro man advertising campaign, a campaign that generated over 20 billion dollars in sales between 1955 and 1957 soon resurfaced. In the report filed by Professional news correspondent, Kathleen Schalch, a Jack Landry, Brand Manager for Phillip Morris made the following comment; “In a world that was becoming increasingly complex and frustrating for the ordinary man," Landry explained, "the cowboy represented an antithesis -- a man whose environment was simplistic and relatively pressure free. He was his own man in a world he owned."
Due to the economic and social pressures that were being faced on individuals in that time, Phillip Morris, Inc. used those influences to resurface and re-establish a brand that was consistent in its idea.
In 1964 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC), although not placing a legal mandate, stated that advertising companies of tobacco had a responsibility to warn consumers of the potential dangers of tobacco. It wasn’t until 1969 that congress, receiving pressure from the Surgeon General’s reports of the effects of smoking and large public influence, made it mandatory to place warning labels on tobacco products.
One year later, on April 1, 1970, President Nixon signed legislation that banned the advertising of tobacco on radio and television. (History, 2012).
Although the Marlboro campaign presented a very rugged and manly figure in its advertising. The demographic of consumers for the product was mostly teenagers. So the ban on radio and television advertising would greatly impact the large market of consumers that generated billions in profit for the company. Events such as the Banning of television and radio ads, the great American smoke out organized by the National Cancer Society in 1976, caused the Phillip Morris company to run studies, which showed a decline in teenage smokers, leading to worry about product sales. However Billboard and print advertising seemed to show no decrease in interests and the ban on TV and print did little for the company’s overall sales.
On April 23rd, 1999, the United States Government offered another blow to the advertising strategies of the tobacco industry by banning billboard, transit and stadium advertising. This did not completely restrict billboard advertising; however, it disallowed portraying super-power type characters or other fictitious circumstances. (Encyclopedia of Drugs, 2001). It allowed for the “Marlboro man” image, but the company could not use previous methods of advertising.
November 28th 1998, the major tobacco companies, such as Phillip Morris, Inc entered into what is known as a Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) (MSA, 2012). This settlement was an agreement between companies and 46 states to seek and enact initiatives tobacco smoking to minors and setting standards of governance in regards to the tobacco industry. This was a pivotal change in course for Marlboro as a main initiative of the agreement is that no tobacco company can enact in the promotion, marketing or advertising of tobacco or tobacco based products that targets the youth. This also included sponsorships for events that are youth based. This along with many other government mandates and agreements have been crucial force in the way in which the company has promoted, marketed and advertised its products since its initial introduction in 1952.
Philip Morris “Advertising and Tobacco Use." Encyclopedia of Drugs, Alcohol, and Addictive Behavior.
Ed. Rosalyn Carson-DeWitt. Vol. 1. Gale Cengage, 2001. eNotes.com. 20 Jul, 2012
Day In history. “Nixon Signs Legislation Banning Cigarette Ads on tv and Radio. Retrieved 20 July 2012
from http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/nixon-signs-legislation-banning-cigarette-ads-on-tv-and-radio
Marlboro Man. Retrieved July 20 2012, from
http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/patc/marlboroman/
MSA. 2012. “Master Settlement Agreement”. Retrieved 20 July 2012 from
http://ag.ca.gov/tobacco/pdf/1msa.pdf
by
atifsaeed (student)
