I found these vintage (1967-68) ads for Tiparillo cigars at Found in Mom’s Basement. All answer the question, “Should a gentleman offer a Tiparillo to…” a particular type of woman.
After a tough evening with the Beethoven crowd, she loves to relax and listen to her folk-rock records. Preferably, on your stereo. She’s open-minded. So maybe tonight you offer her a Tiparillo. She might like it–the slim cigar with a white tip. Elegant. And, you dog, you’ve got both kinds on hand, Tiparillo Regular and new Tiparillo M with menthol–her choice of mild smoke or cold smoke. Well? Should you offer? After all, if she likes the offer, she might start to play. No strings attached.
Underneath that pocket of pencils there beats the heart of a digital computer. This girl has already catalogued and cross-indexed the Tiparillo slim, elegant shape. And the neat, white tip. She knows that there are two Tiparillos. Regular, for a mild smoke. Or new Tiparillo M with menthol, for a cold smoke. She knows. She’s programmed. And she’s ready. But how about you? Which Tiparillo are you going to offer? Or are you just going to stand there and stare at her pencils?
She’ll read anything she can get her hands on. From Medieval History to How-to-Build-a-24-Foot-Iceboat. Loves books. Loves new ideas. Okay. No doubt, she’s seen the unusual, slim Tiparillo shape. She’s been intrigued by the neat, white tip. She may even know that there are two Tiparillos. Regular, for a mild smoke. And new Tiparillo M with menthol, for a cold smoke. Your only problem is which to offer. P.S. If she accepts your Tiparillo, remember to fumble with the matches until she decides to light it herself. That way, she’ll have to put down the book.
I found these next two on ebay (all these vintage ads can be purchased on ebay, it turns out):
Is this the old did-it-with-mirrors ploy? Look again. Okay, that’s enough looking. What you’ve got on your hands are carbon copy twins. And what you’ve got in your hands are Tiparillo and Tiparillo M with menthol. Since Tiparillo is the slim, elegant cigar with the neat tip, would it be statistically correct to offer it to this census-taking twosome? Because all they really want is your name, address, phone number and a few other factual facts. But what they get sort of depends on what you offer.
“The doctor is a little late, sir. Will you have a seat?” She’s the best thing to hit dentistry since novocaine. “Hey Dummy,” your mind says to you, “why didn’t you have this toothache sooner?” Maybe if…well, you could offer her a Tiparillo. Or a Tiparillo M with menthol. An elegant, tipped cigar. Slim. And your offer would be cleverly psychological. (If she’s a bit of a kook, she’ll take it. If not, she’ll be flattered that you thought she was a bit of a kook.) And who knows? Your next visit might be a house call.
I will lead it to you, dear reader, to decide if there was supposed to be anything else “cleverly psychological” in any of these ads.
Comments 14
Lisa — October 10, 2008
Brett, a fellow blogger here, has mentioned how creepy the twin fantasy is. Hello! They're sisters! That's incest. Sexy!
Michelle — October 10, 2008
Go team legitimization of women as professionals.
/sarcasm
Village Idiot — October 10, 2008
The twins may be sisters, but they're not my sisters! All of those smokin' babes are welcome to grab my elegant white tip anytime! (wink, wink.. nudge, nudge... say no more, say no more)
I just hope the dental hygienist is using her own special sexy mirror and not one she randomly picked up after a patient left... (Uh, whaddya mean she ain't a real dental hygienist??)
FWIW, you should definitely not offer a Tiparillo to a pulmonary specialist, even if her top is busting its buttons. I think I'm starting to amuse myself too much here, so I better stop now before I write something even more idiotic. Carry on...
Inky — October 13, 2008
Oh! These crack me up! I have a collection of these advertisements that I've discovered in old Playboy magazines from the 60s. What I find so intriguing about them is that I think the intention was to somehow "recognize" the women's movement (in making all of the sexy ladies professionals) while still sexualizing them in order to sell a product that has nothing to do with sexuality.
“She knows. She’s programmed. And she’s ready.” « The Oyster’s Garter — October 13, 2008
[...] Sociological Images. [...]
eallen — October 13, 2008
Offer a Tiparillo to a dental hygienist, and she will say, "Ah, so that's why your mouth looks so revolting!"
Ben Zvan — December 31, 2008
Twin census takers: Every man's fantasy.
Marketing Cigarettes to Men » Sociological Images — November 25, 2009
[...] see our post on Tiparillo cigarettes as a way to get hot women and Skoal use as male bonding that will get you out of a speeding ticket. 9 Comments [...]
karinova — April 11, 2010
Obviously, the distinguishing feature of the Tiparillo brand was the tip, but... is it me, or is it gross they way the ads seem to harp on the "slim shape" of the cigar, and the "neat white tip" in this context?
Maybe it's just the seeing the ads all at once like this.
Mitch Devine — July 5, 2010
Nice collection and "cleverly psychological" cringe-inducing copy! Which way to the library for nudists?
Handing Down a Decent Car | Trail Baboon — July 19, 2011
[...] saw one of those plastic tips from the old ‘Tiparillo’ cigars lying on the ground the other day. It reminded me of my Dad as he smoked those for a time [...]
Daniel Margolick — September 2, 2018
Anyone remember the ad where an interviewer seeks out the opinion of a prizefighter's opinion of a menthol cigar? His answer is a sock on the jaw.
Greg Klebanoff — February 15, 2022
Fascinating ad campaign. Ostensively support the nascent women’s lib movement by making all the models professionals, yet simultaneously depict them as shameless sex objects! Kudos to whomever thought that one up! Think of all the men it seduced into thinking that a pocket full of cigars would help them pick up women—and who knows? perhaps in the 1960s it did! How times have changed.