“THE MARLBORO STORY” 1969 PHILIP MORRIS BIG TOBACCO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN LEO BURNETT AGENCY 65934

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This 1969 color “puff piece” on the history of the Marlboro cigarette brand chronicles the origins of one of history's greatest ad campaigns. Made as a brag piece, the film also illustrates how the Philip Morris Corporation preyed on consumers during the 50s and 60s by shifting their branding and advertising approaches to suggest hazy links between tobacco use and masculinity. The faces of the businessmen behind the brand’s “cowboy” image are revealed in promotional interviews (TRT: 25:04).

Horses in silhouette at sunset. A “cowboy” lights up. Narration: “This is the story of a cigarette… and how a sort of faceless, sissified little brand became America’s fastest-growing cigarette” (0:08). Title: “The Marlboro Story” (0:43). Closeup on a smoking “feminine” package of Marlboro cigarettes circa 1954. Rack focus to reveal modern flip-top boxes of filtered “reds” (0:52). Advertising executive Leo Burnett smokes during an office interview, with multiple packs of Marlboros on his desk. He explains his original “cowboy” concept, a “masculine image” copied from a book (1:13). Burnett waxes nostalgic about advertising copy (3:55). An early ad with a “Marlboro man” (4:29). Title: “The Marlboro Man” over a plane landing on a runway in black and white. The pilot deplanes and opens a pack of Marlboros with a propeller-tattooed hand. A man on horseback does the same, also with a tattooed hand (5:24). Crossfade to color footage of cigarettes rolling off a production line. Cartons on a conveyor belt. A graph tracks skyrocketing sales from 1954 to 1956 (6:32). A portrait of musical jingle composer Don Tennant. A pen and paper pad on a piano. Montage of still piano playing photos. Slow zoom on a pianist. Sheet music for a Marlboro jingle, “You get a lot to like…” March and ballad versions are demonstrated over 50s ads. Montage of tattooed hands (7:01). A new slogan: “Where there’s a man… there’ a Marlboro” and climbing sales figures (9:19). Ross Millhiser, President of Philip Morris USA, holds a copy “Reader’s Digest” from July, 1957. An article: “The Facts Behind Filter-Tip Cigarettes” lists tar and nicotine measurements (10:01). Other Philip Morris brands are pictured: Parliament, Benson & Hedges, and Virginia Slims (11:40). Cigarettes are sold at cash registers and vending machines. The soft pack is introduced (12:03). A black and white animated cartoon commercial with radio announcer characters Harry and Juggernaut (voiced by Daws Butler) (12:36). New ads show a more relaxed, “settle back” approach. Singer Julie London sings a new tune and smokes a cigarette in a nightclub setting (13:37). Color advertisements of the early 1960s. Black and white “empty stadium” commercials featuring athletes Charlie Connery, John Arnett, Tom Harmon, Don Hudson,Frankie Albert, Paul Hornung. Hornung smokes and recalls his glory days (14:35). Jack Landry, Vice President of Philip Morris, speaks on “Marlboro masculinity” (15:29). “Cowboy” advertisements and the “Marlboro Country” slogan’s debut (16:45). A “Marlboro Country” campaign advert, and a montage of wordless color stills (17:35). Copycat ads, including a Campbell’s “Manhandlers” soup ad and a Cadbury “Bar 6” chocolate bar commercial, both playing on the Marlboro format (19:22). A “Marlboro man” cowboy hat and uniform hangs on a coat rack. Charted sales figures jump in the late 1960s, thanks in part to other Philip Morris cigarette brands (20:26). A 1969 “Marlboro Country” promo reel. A cattle drive set to the theme from “The Magnificent Seven.” A “cowboy” puts on boots, cooks a fried egg, and drinks coffee by a campfire. A Texas Longhorn steer and wild horses. Smoking ranchers ride into the sunset. The Philip Morris logo with the motto, “Veni vidi vici” (22:10).

According to the CDC, Cigarette smoking is responsible for over 480,000 deaths per year in the United States, including more than 41,000 deaths resulting from secondhand smoke exposure. This is approximately 1,300 deaths every day. On average, smokers die 10 years earlier than nonsmokers.


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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com