Leo Burnett Co.'s Marlboro Man 1955 and on

1. TOP 100 AD CAMPAIGNS
Leo Burnett Co.’s Marlboro Man
1955 and on
Anna Nelson | History of Advertising | October 2016

2. THE
MARLBORO
MAN
Ranked #3 in Ad Age’s
Top 100 Advertising
Campaigns
Created by Leo Burnett
1955

3. LEO BURNETT CO.
• Founded in 1935 by Leo Burnett, who was named in
1999 by Time magazine as one of the 100 most
influential people of the 20th century.
• Following the stock market crash of 1929, Leo Burnett
started with a working capital of just $50,000, eight
employees, and three clients.
• For the first several years, the company had billings of
only around $1 million.

4. LEO BURNETT CO.
• 1950: $22 million
• 1954: $55 million
• 1960: $100 million
Marlboro Man campaign began

5. ICONIC CAMPAIGNS
• Tony the Tiger
• Charlie the Tuna
• Maytag Repairman
• United Airlines “Fly the Friendly Skies”
• AllState’s “Good Hands”
• McDonald’s, Hallmark, Coca-Cola

7. AMERICA IN THE 50’S
• Korean War ended in 1953
• Eisenhower President for
two terms
• Anti-communist mentality
• Strong unions- half the
workforce in one
• Politics moderate
• Consumerism king

8. PHILIP MORRIS AND
MARLBOROS• First introduced
Marlboros as a women’s
cigarette in 1924- “Mild
as May.”
• Emerging scientific data
about health risks of
smoking gave rise to the
promotion of filtered
cigarettes.
• Filters were a way to
settle the fears- “safer
cigarette.”

10. HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.CO
M/WATCH?V=GALMX2BO5P
S

11. ORIGINS
• Burnett felt making claims about a
safer cigarette would further
concerns about health risks by
reminding the customer about
them.
• Inspiration came from 1949 issue of
Life magazine featuring story of
Texas Cowboy Clarence Hailey
Long.
• The Americana theme proved
popular with cowboys, astronauts
and army men in the first Marlboro
Men campaigns.
• Popularized by actor Paul Birch in
magazine and TV ads.

15. LEO BURNETT
• Dramatic realism and the soft sell to build brand loyalty and
equity.
• Believed in finding the “inherent drama” in products and using
the emotional response and experience connection to relate to
consumer.
• Used cultural archetypes that represented American values.
• Was known for keeping a folder in his lower left hand drawer
of his desk labelled “Corny Language” that contained words
and phrases that he felt portrayed a feeling of honesty and
drove home a clear point.

17. RESPONSE
• Real cowboys, rodeo
riders and stuntmen
were used in the
Marlboro Country
campaign.
• Sales 1955: $5 billion
• Sales 1957: $20 billion

19. RESPONSE
• Campaign imitated by Old Golds and
Chesterfield
• 1972 Marlboro was the top cigarette brand
in the country
• Four Marlboro Men have died from
smoking related diseases
• So effective that by the late 90’s, 90% of
school children knew who the Marlboro
Man was.
• 1998 campaign ended when tobacco
companies were no longer allowed to use
cartoons (Joe Camel) or humans in
advertising.
• Still seen as one of the most influential ad
campaigns even with tragic ending
• Americana + realism = connection