This vintage Lucky Strike ad from 1935 is representative of the kind of imagery and concepts that were once used to sell cigarettes. It show a couple enjoying a smoke in a luxury setting, and touts the smoothness of the tobacco, described as giving "the mildest smoke" that doesn't irritate the throat. It would be decades before health considerations even played a role.
Lucky Strike, 1935 —
This vintage Lucky Strike ad from 1935 is representative of the kind of imagery and concepts that were once used to sell cigarettes. It show a couple enjoying a smoke in a luxury setting, and touts the smoothness of the tobacco, described as giving "the mildest smoke" that doesn't irritate the throat. It would be decades before health considerations even played a role.
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This ad from 1950 was inspired by a TV show in which a woman was wearing a cigarette pack costume.
Old Gold, 1950 —
This ad from 1950 was inspired by a TV show in which a woman was wearing a cigarette pack costume.
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"This is a great example of the lush illustration used at the time and it shows a kind of surrealistic, whimsical approach with people dancing around a giant cigarette," said Jim Heimann, author of <a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.taschen.com%2Fpages%2Fen%2Fcatalogue%2Fpopculture%2Fall%2F49389%2Ffacts.jim_heimann_20th_century_alcohol_tobacco_ads.htm" target="_blank" target="_blank">"20th Century Alcohol & Tobacco Ads."</a>
Murad, 1919 —
"This is a great example of the lush illustration used at the time and it shows a kind of surrealistic, whimsical approach with people dancing around a giant cigarette," said Jim Heimann, author of "20th Century Alcohol & Tobacco Ads."
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"This is a pretty early ad for a Mexican beer, which as a product, didn't really come into its own until the 1970s with Corona, so it was a pretty daunting task at that time."
Carta Blanca, 1943 —
"This is a pretty early ad for a Mexican beer, which as a product, didn't really come into its own until the 1970s with Corona, so it was a pretty daunting task at that time."
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"This is an exception to the rule of using photography for this time period, it has a really modernist feel to it, with the abstraction of the grapes, and the typeface is really great."
Asti, 1952 —
"This is an exception to the rule of using photography for this time period, it has a really modernist feel to it, with the abstraction of the grapes, and the typeface is really great."
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"The aim of this campaign was to show how populist Schlitz beer was and how it was ingrained in all aspects of American life, including the company party."
Schlitz, 1951 —
"The aim of this campaign was to show how populist Schlitz beer was and how it was ingrained in all aspects of American life, including the company party."
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Alcohol and tobacco ads didn't generally portray any minorities until the civil rights era. "It's basically a white person's world until the late 1950s and then obviously the mid-1960s, when things began to change as social mores changed," Heimann said.
Kent, 1970 —
Alcohol and tobacco ads didn't generally portray any minorities until the civil rights era. "It's basically a white person's world until the late 1950s and then obviously the mid-1960s, when things began to change as social mores changed," Heimann said.
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"Marlboro have been very clever in their use of iconic Western imagery to sell cigarettes. Once (the) Marlboro Man was established, they could have shown just a belt buckle and the word Marlboro to make an ad."
Marlboro, 1973 —
"Marlboro have been very clever in their use of iconic Western imagery to sell cigarettes. Once (the) Marlboro Man was established, they could have shown just a belt buckle and the word Marlboro to make an ad."
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In a Super Bowl ad in 1987, Budweiser debuted Spuds MacKenzie, a bull terrier mascot. <br /><br />"Spuds McKenzie was a hugely successful campaign and it even spawned merchandise that you could get through a contest -- an idea probably taken from Joe Camel, of buying into a product indirectly through some kind of cartoon character."
Bud Light, 1988 —
In a Super Bowl ad in 1987, Budweiser debuted Spuds MacKenzie, a bull terrier mascot.

"Spuds McKenzie was a hugely successful campaign and it even spawned merchandise that you could get through a contest -- an idea probably taken from Joe Camel, of buying into a product indirectly through some kind of cartoon character."
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"People used to really buy into this kind of imagery. I think that now we are getting less and less of it, just because of the nature of how we view alcohol and tobacco these days."
Tanqueray, 1988 —
"People used to really buy into this kind of imagery. I think that now we are getting less and less of it, just because of the nature of how we view alcohol and tobacco these days."
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