Marlboro cigarettes are one of the most expensive and recognizable brands in the world. Today, almost every cigarette of this brand is associated with a stern cowboy in the middle of the American prairies, and few people know that it all began with working exclusively for a female audience. The story of Marlboro cigarettes is a story about how to turn an unpromising brand into a real legend. After all, this is exactly what the founder of the company did.
Women began to smoke not so long ago – around the beginning of the twentieth century, when in the struggle for universal suffrage, they decided to get full rights in everything. This in 1924 was used by the American Philip Morris, who decided to occupy a new niche and create cigarettes for the fair sex. The name was chosen most cute – Marlboro in honor of the earl origin of Winston Churchill. However, for a simplified spelling, the “extra” letters were excluded from the word.
The slogan was also aimed at ladies: gentle as May (MIld as May). To advertise the brand, May West was invited – one of the most scandalous actresses of her time. Marlboro cigarettes were produced with a filter designed to protect women’s teeth from yellowing, and a red stripe at the base to hide the trace of lipstick.
Forced rebranding. However, the women’s smokers were unimportant. Despite the active advertising, the company practically did not make a profit. Philip Morris was seriously afraid for the fate of his brainchild. The only way out was to change the target audience and start producing cigarettes for those who continue to smoke.
The founder of the company found himself in a difficult situation – cigarettes without a filter were considered the most harmful, but men refused to smoke products with a filter, because buying women’s cigarettes made them an object of ridicule. To achieve success, Philip Morris had to completely change the public’s view of filtered cigarettes. And he decided to take up this difficult task, calling on the help of one of the best American advertising specialists – Leo Burnett.