Bits of tobacco history
History Net: Lucky Strikes were first introduced in 1916 to compete with the phenomenally successful Camel. The name was revived from an 1871 pipe tobacco brand that referenced the Gold Rush days. The motto, “It’s Toasted!”, is pure marketing absurdism; all cigarettes are toasted.
In 1942, Lucky Strike changed the color of its packs from green to white due to dye shortage. Its slogan: “Lucky Strike green has gone to war.” Ad campaign coincides with US invasion of North Africa. Sales increase 38 percent.
Other gems from the article:
1915: POETRY
Tobacco is a dirty weed. I like it.
It satisfies no normal need. I like it.
It makes you thin, it makes you lean,
It takes the hair right off your bean.
It’s the worst darn stuff I’ve ever seen.
I like it.
— Graham Lee Hemminger, Penn State Froth, Tobacco
1950: Lucky Strike’s “Be Happy, Go Lucky” wins TV Guide’s commercial of the year. (Cheerleaders sing: “Yes, Luckies get our loudest cheers on campus and on dates. With college gals and college guys a Lucky really rates.”)
1952: P. Lorillard introduces Kent cigarettes, with the “Micronite” filter. At the press conference at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, Lorillard boasted that the “Micronite” filter offered “the greatest health protection in cigarette history.” Its secret: asbestos.
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