Smoking seems to be a theme this week. I just saw the Stanford School of Medicine’s online tobacco-ad gallery where you can view images by theme or brand. Fascinating.
From the exhibit “Our intention is to tell—principally through advertising images—the story of how, between the late 1920s and the early 1950s, tobacco companies used deceptive and often patently false claims in an effort to reassure the public of the safety of their products.”
Comments 2
Brendan — October 12, 2008
I think it's interesting, as a side note, to see how the perception of Lucky Strikes has changed. Then, it was all about how "mild" and "light" they were. Now, if you tell someone you're smoking a Lucky Strike (even other smokers), they tend to grimace with that look that says "so, you're just rushing towards death, aren't you?"
Will — October 14, 2008
I smoked Luckies for years. (I quit, though). I guess before filter tips were common and the alternatives were cigars, pipes, and roll-yer-own, they may have seemed mild by comparison.
I never got any smokes as a Christmas present from Ronald Reagan, though. I wonder if that's what inspired that scene in The Breakfast Club?