Marlboro
Marlboro is an American brand of cigarettes owned and manufactured by Philip Morris USA within the United States and by Philip Morris International in most global territories outside the US. The brand was introduced in 1924, initially marketed towards women before it evolved towards men during the 1950s. Marlboro would eventually become one of the world's most valuable brands and best-selling products, and it was widely known for its advertising featuring the Marlboro Man, a fictional cowboy.
Today, Marlboro continues to be one of the largest brands of cigarettes. Marlboro's largest cigarette manufacturing plant is located in Richmond, Virginia. In Canada, a separate product using the Marlboro brand is owned and manufactured by Imperial Tobacco Canada, while the international product is distributed in Canada by a unit of PMI under the name "Rooftop". Also in India, a separate Marlboro product is made and marketed by Godfrey Phillips India.
History
In 1847, the family of British tobacconist Philip Morris opened a shop on Bond Street, London, selling tobacco and rolled cigarettes. After Philip's death in 1873, his brother Leopold and widow Margaret continued the business, growing it and opening a factory on Great Marlborough Street, London, from which the name was taken.A New York subsidiary was opened in 1902 to sell many of its cigarette brands. The name '"Marlboro"' was registered in the US in 1908 although no cigarette was marketed under this name until 1923. In 1924, the brand was launched. They were first marketed as "America's luxury cigarette" and were mainly sold in hotels and resorts.
Around the 1930s, it was starting to be advertised as a women's cigarette, based on the slogan "Mild As May".
However, as early as 1885, a brand called "Marlborough" was already being marketed as a "ladies' favorite" by Philip Morris & Co.
Shortly before World War II, the brand's sales stagnated at less than 1% of tobacco sales in the US and was briefly withdrawn from the market. After the war, Camel, Lucky Strike and Chesterfield were the only common cigarettes.
After scientists published a major study linking smoking to lung cancer in the 1950s, Philip Morris repositioned Marlboro as a men's cigarette in order to fit a market niche of men who were concerned about lung cancer while also concerned with masculinity if they smoked a filtered cigarette usually marketed to women. The Leo Burnett advertising agency solved the problem by a new style of advertising that dispensed with copy and created a visual personality for the brand. Marlboro ads now featured masculinity. The Marlboro Man was a sea captain, gunsmith, athlete and cowboy.
Part of Marlboro's rise in market share was its ability to produce "milder, more aromatic, sweeter, and less harsh" cigarettes by adding ammonia to the tobacco. Further usage of diammonium phosphate allowed Marlboro to free base the nicotine in tobacco, allowing for more efficient delivery. Marlboro kept this process secret for many years, as freebasing is the same process used to produce crack cocaine from normal cocaine. Some experts have called the product that Marlboro sold "crack tobacco."
The first Marlboro cigarettes manufactured outside of the United States were produced in Switzerland in 1957 when Philip Morris International signed an agreement with Neuchâtel-based Fabriques de Tabac Réunies, before acquiring them 6 years later.
In the late 1960s, Marlboro "Longhorn 100's" were introduced. Although color-coded with gold, they were full flavor cigarettes, not lights. In 1972, Marlboro became the best-selling brand of tobacco in the world.
File:Adolfo Suárez recibe al presidente de la Junta preautonómica de Andalucía.jpg|thumb|left|Adolfo Suárez and Rafael Escuredo smoking Marlboro cigarettes in La Moncloa, 1980
In order to comply with a 2006 court ruling in United States v. Philip Morris USA, Inc., et al., Philip Morris are now prevented from using words such as "Lights", "Ultra-Lights", "Medium", "Mild", or any similar designation that may yield an impression of being safer than regular full flavored cigarettes. Thus Marlboro and other cigarette companies use only color-coding instead; for example, Marlboro Lights are now called Marlboro Gold Pack.
Philip Morris responded to the popularity of Pall Mall, the number three brand, by pushing Marlboro Special Blends, a lower-priced cigarette.
In 2013, Philip Morris International introduced "Marlboro 2.0". The pack design was changed; the dark red was replaced with a lighter red, the "Marlboro" and Philip Morris logo became ribbed and transparent, and around 2017 a special "Smart SEAL" was introduced to keep the stored cigarettes fresh for a longer period of time. The Marlboro 2.0 packs are mainly available in Europe and some parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America, but not in the US, Canada and Australia and New Zealand.
In 2015, Philip Morris announced they would introduce a "Firm Filter" to their Marlboro Red, Gold, Silver Blue, Ice Blast and White Menthol variants. Philip Morris managing director for the UK and Ireland, Martin Inkster, said that the Firm Filter technique was added to "offer quality you can feel and it is a cleaner way to stub out your cigarette".
In January 2023 the US Food Drug Administration approved of marketing around the U.S. for multiple Marlboro Vape Heatsticks, Sienna Heatstick, Amber Heatstick & Bronze Heatstick.
Advertising
In the 1920s, advertising for the cigarette was primarily based on how ladylike the filter cigarette was, in an attempt to appeal to the mass market. To this end, the filter had a printed red band around it to hide lipstick stains, calling it "Beauty Tips to Keep the Paper from Your Lips".The red and white package was designed by designer Frank Gianninoto. The repositioning of Marlboro as a men's cigarette was handled by Chicago advertiser Leo Burnett. The proposed campaign was to present a lineup of manly figures: sea captains, weightlifters, war correspondents, construction workers, etc. The cowboy was to have been the first in this series. While Philip Morris was concerned about the campaign, they eventually gave the green light.
Marlboro's market share rose from less than one percent to the fourth best-selling brand. This convinced Philip Morris to drop the lineup of manly figures and stick with the cowboy, later known as the Marlboro Man. From 1963, the television advertisements used Elmer Bernstein's theme from The Magnificent Seven.
Over the years, Philip Morris has made many billboard, poster and magazine adverts.
Philip Morris also made various sports-related billboards, stickers and other memorabilia throughout the years, mainly promoting the Marlboro brand via its McLaren and Ferrari teams partnerships in places like Russia and Monaco.
Through licensees, Philip Morris sells various merchandising products, such as lighters, ashtrays, sunglasses and other accessories, which are sometimes given away to the target group as part of marketing promotions.
In 1983, the campaign "Marlboro Adventure Team" was launched in Germany, in which purchasers of the brand could apply to win a trip to the USA to live like the "Marlboro Man", as well as a plethora of different clothing items and accessories.
Post-Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement
In the aftermath of the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement, Marlboro, then the leading cigarette brand in the United States, was greatly restricted in its capacity advertise its product offerings. Philip Morris thus shifted primarily to 'point of sale' and mail advertising. By 2005, Marlboro had exclusive contracts with almost half of the country's retailers to display and advertise its premium offerings in prominent locations.By 2000, the company had adopted the Marlboro Miles rewards catalog as a means of incentivizing consumer loyalty. In 2009, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned an earlier court judgement which had found that the proof-of-purchase system it utilized was by definition a 'gift certificate' program. This secondary judgement allowed Philip Morris to revoke the validity of 'Five Miles' products after a certain date.
Sport sponsorship
According to Ellen Merlo, vice president of marketing services at Philip Morris, quoted in a 1989 Marlboro advertisement:We perceive Formula One and Indy car racing as adding, if you will, a modern-day dimension to the Marlboro Man. The image of Marlboro is very rugged, individualistic, heroic. And so is this style of auto racing. From an image standpoint, the fit is good.
Formula One
Marlboro is known for its association with motor racing. This started in the season with the sponsorship of the Formula One team BRM. The first win for a Marlboro-sponsored Formula One car was achieved at the 1972 Monaco Grand Prix by Jean-Pierre Beltoise driving for the BRM team. In and, the cigarette giant backed the Frank Williams Racing Cars team, whose cars were registered as Iso-Marlboro.In the 1974 season, under the leadership of advertising executive and eventual Formula One power broker John Hogan, Marlboro became associated with the McLaren team. The team won their first World Constructors' Championship as well as first World Drivers' Championship in the first season of the partnership between McLaren and Marlboro. The team won another drivers title in for James Hunt. Following that, the partnership went through a dry patch until Ron Dennis's Project Four Organization took over the team in. Marlboro-sponsored McLaren triumphed Formula One for much of the 1980s and early 1990s, with Niki Lauda, Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna between them winning the Drivers' Championship all but one year from to. After the departure of Ayrton Senna at the end of the season, Marlboro McLaren never won a race again. Marlboro ended their sponsorship of the team at the end of the season, which ended the red and white McLaren livery. McLaren was sponsored by West from the start of the season onwards. McLaren and Marlboro had the longest sponsorship deal between a team and its title sponsor in Formula One history, which lasted for 23 consecutive seasons.
Over the years, McLaren altered the Marlboro livery to comply with regional anti-tobacco sponsorship laws which were in place in countries like France, the UK and later Germany. The Marlboro logo was replaced by a chevron in, with a barcode in and and from to or with "McLaren" in and from to and to. At the 1986 Portuguese Grand Prix, Keke Rosberg's car was painted yellow and white rather than red and white, to advertise Marlboro Lights.
Marlboro also sponsored Scuderia Ferrari's drivers since the season but only in Marlboro became a minor sponsor on Ferrari's Formula One cars. Until then, Enzo Ferrari allowed only technical suppliers brands to appear on his team cars. In, Marlboro became the main sponsor, eventually becoming the title sponsor in when the team was officially renamed as "Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro". Marlboro remained Ferrari's title sponsor until the 2011 European Grand Prix and the main sponsor until the end of the season.
File:Marlboro-Ferrari.jpg|thumb|Prominent Marlboro branding on Ferrari Formula One car and team at the 2006 Bahrain Grand Prix
Over the years, Ferrari, just like McLaren, had to alter the Marlboro livery in various ways to comply with regional anti-tobacco sponsoring laws which were in place in countries like France, the UK and later Germany. The Marlboro logo was removed completely or replaced with a white space from to , changed to a "bar code" from to 1999 and in and, or the text was removed while keeping the chevron with the driver's name and in the team member clothing, the Marlboro logo became a white square with a red stripe above with the driver's written name from the 1980s until. The team used a special livery for the 2001 Italian Grand Prix in remembrance of the September 11 attacks in the US; both cars ran without any sponsorship livery and sported matte black nose-cones. In the 2005 Bahrain Grand Prix the cars sported black nosecones as a sign of mourning for Pope John Paul II.
In September 2005, Ferrari signed an extension of their sponsorship arrangement with Marlboro until 2011. This agreement came at a time when tobacco sponsorship had become wholly banned in the European Union and other F1 teams ended their relationships with tobacco companies. In reporting the deal, F1 Racing magazine judged it to be a "black day" for the sport, putting non-tobacco funded teams at a disadvantage and discouraging other brands from entering a sport still associated with tobacco. The magazine estimated that in the period between 2005 and 2011, Ferrari received $1 billion from the agreement. Depending on the venue of races and the particular national laws, the Marlboro branding became largely subliminal in most countries.
In mid-2006, special "racing editions" of Marlboro Red were sold in the UK, with a Ferrari-inspired design, although the Ferrari name and badge were not used. In April 2008, Marlboro displayed explicit on-car branding on Ferrari for the last time, then permanently replaced with a variety of barcodes in place of it. Since then, there were calls from leading health officials, the European Commissioner for Health and influential doctors for a review of the subliminal advertising contract Marlboro has with Advertising Guerrilla and Ferrari, due to the implications of influencing the purchase of cigarettes with possible subliminal advertising, as no tobacco products can be promoted in sporting events in Europe. The Ferrari team claimed the barcode was part of the car design, not an advertising message.
An article published in the academic journal Tobacco Control which reported research into the history of tobacco sponsorship in motorsport stated that Marlboro had used vertical stripes in its sponsorship of F1 cars as early as 1972 with BRM, as well as with McLaren in 1988 and Ferrari in 1993, that these had been used in the same locations on cars and driver clothing as conventional Marlboro logos, that when the barcode logo was finally removed by Ferrari they announced that they had made the decision with Philip Morris, and that then Philip Morris head of sponsorship Maurizio Arrivabene had referred to the barcode design as "our logo" in an online article, concluding that the barcode was a form of "alibi marketing" which used the fundamentals of the Marlboro brand identity to advertise it whilst avoiding conventional logos.
The controversial barcode design was removed by Ferrari for the start of the Spanish Grand Prix in the 2010 season, but the barcode remained on drivers' team gear. In January 2011, the Scuderia Ferrari presented a new logo for its racing team. This logo is considered by an F1-website as an advertisement for Marlboro, evocating the top-left corner design of a Marlboro cigarettes pack.
In June 2011, Ferrari extended its partnership with Marlboro through to the end of 2015, despite cigarette advertising being banned in the sport. The deal has been subsequently renewed for three more years, through 2018. In February 2018, Philip Morris renewed their partnership deal with Ferrari until the end of 2021. While the logo, which has been in place since 2011, has been removed on this year's car. Before 2018 Japanese Grand Prix, Ferrari launches their revised SF71H livery featuring PMI's Mission Winnow brand.
Marlboro had provided financial support to many racing drivers, the most illustrious of whom are Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna and Mika Häkkinen. From 1970 until the mid-1990s, the logos of the cigarettes could be present on the combinations of the drivers if they were not present on the cars. Marlboro has also sponsored many grand prix races up until 2005.
Marlboro also sponsored a multitude of other, smaller teams in Formula One. It was the main sponsor of Alfa Romeo F1 Team between and, although unable to match up to its pre-war and 1950s heyday, the team only achieving one pole position, one fastest lap and four podium finishes. In the Italian clothing brand Benetton took over Alfa Romeo's livery sponsorship, which they held until the withdrawal of Alfa Romeo from Formula One at the end of. The Marlboro logo was replaced with a barcode at certain races, due to tobacco or alcohol sponsorship bans in place.
Marlboro sponsored the BMS Scuderia Italia team from until, when Chesterfield became their main sponsor. The livery was similar to the Ferrari and Alfa Romeo ones. The Marlboro logo was displayed on the front and side of the cars and on the drivers' helmets. In some races where explicit tobacco sponsoring was forbidden, the Marlboro logo was removed.
Marlboro sponsored the Arrows F1 team in. While Ruffles, a potato chip brand, sponsored the car, Marlboro sponsored the drivers' helmets.
Marlboro sponsored the EuroBrun team in. The ER188, driven by Oscar Larrauri, Stefano Modena and Gregor Foitek, featured the Marlboro logo on the helmets of the drivers, as well as the Marlboro logo and name on the side of the cars.
Marlboro sponsored the Fittipaldi Automotive team in. The Marlboro logo was displayed on the helmets of the drivers.
Marlboro sponsored the Forti F1 team in and. The logo was displayed on the top side of the car, as well as on the helmets of the drivers.
Marlboro sponsored the Merzario team from until the team's collapse in. The Marlboro logo were displayed on the front, side and on the drivers helmets.
Marlboro sponsored the Minardi team in. The Marlboro logo was displayed on the front and side of the cars and on the drivers helmets. In some races where explicit tobacco sponsoring was forbidden, the Marlboro logo was replaced with a barcode.
Marlboro sponsored the Onyx Grand Prix team in and. The Marlboro logo was displayed on the front and side of the cars and on the drivers helmets. In some races where explicit tobacco sponsoring was forbidden, the Marlboro logo was replaced with a barcode, but the Chevron logo was retained.
Marlboro sponsored Team Rebaque in. The Marlboro logo was displayed on the front and side of the cars and on the drivers helmets. In some races where explicit tobacco sponsoring was forbidden, the Marlboro logo was removed.
Marlboro sponsored the Rial Racing team in and. The Marlboro logo was displayed on the front and side of the cars and on the drivers helmets. In some races where explicit tobacco sponsoring was forbidden, the Marlboro logo was replaced with a barcode.
Marlboro sponsored the Spirit Racing team in and. The Marlboro logo was displayed on the front and side of the cars and on the drivers helmets.