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The Marlboro man is part of a tobacco advertising campaign by Philip Morris starting in 1954 for Marlboro cigarettes. The image involves a rugged cowboy or cowboys, in nature with only a cigarette. The ads were originally conceived as a way to popularize filtered cigarettes, which at the time were considered a feminine cigarette.
The Marlboro ad campaign created by Leo Burnett Worldwide is said to be one of the most brilliant ad campaigns ever. It transformed a feminine campaign, with the slogan "Mild as May", into a masculine one in a matter of months.
Although there were many Marlboro Men, the cowboy proved to be the most popular. This led to the Marlboro Cowboy and Marlboro Country campaigns.
Actor and author William Thourlby is said to have been the first Marlboro Man. The models who portrayed the Marlboro man were New York Giants Quarterback Charley Conerly, Darrell Winfield, Dick Hammer, Brad Johnson, Bill Dutra, Dean Myers, Robert Norris, Wayne McLaren, David McLean and Tom Mattox. Two of them, Wayne McLaren and David McLean, died of lung cancer.
Origin of the Marlboro Man
Inspiration for the "Marlboro Man" icon came when the photograph and story of cowboy Clarence Hailey Long appeared in LIFE magazine in 1949. After seeing the photograph, advertising executive Leo Burnett, who had been looking for a new image for Philip Morris's Marlboro brand, conceived of the immensely masculine icon. *
There are also claims that the original idea for the Marlboro Man came from the Chase Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico. It is said that for this reason that on all pictures of "The Man" there is a heart brand (The Chase Brand) on his chaps and his horse. The origin and validity of this claim is unknown.
Nickname
Because of the Marlboro Man, and the strength of the red variety of Marlboro cigarettes, they are sometimes referred to in slang as "cowboy killers."
See also
External links
- The photo of C. H. Long from LIFE Magazine (LIFE.com)
- Another link with a little more written about the LIFE photo of C. H. Long
- Marlboro Manslaughter at the Urban Legends Reference Pages
"Marlboro Man"